Two Worlds, One Family
by Carly the Llama
Summary: Fourth installment in the Worldbender series. Zoe and crew have finally settled down and embraced happily ever after, but the new threat on the horizon and Joselyn's internal conflict with the Enchantress Iku just had to ruin it. Now the team has to travel their world to find the six stones to defeat Iku. What could go wrong? Rated T for violence, swearing and dirty jokes.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Of Detectives and realizations**

"I passed my Detective Exam!" Zoe ran in happily. It had been nine months since Eden died. The twins looked two, Felix had started puberty, Marinette was gonna pop any day now, Kelly and Emilie were married, Jared and Camille had basically adopted Joselyn, Dausi had had a kid with Connor named Amren, Adrien had finished college early by some fucking miracle and got a degree in teaching, Notre Dame had burned down in a fire, Plagg was adjusting to being not-eternal…yeah. A lot had happened.

At this moment, Zoe had decided to get a job. Ever since she found out the love of her life had been raped by Douglas, she decided that she was going to go into Law Enforcement so nobody else suffered like he did.

Today was also Adrien's first day as a physics teachers. Jay—the girl one—had also changed her name to Ariana to avoid confusion. Anyway, Ariana was the PE and Health teacher, so Adrien had someone to help him around.

Marinette couldn't walk. She was very heavily pregnant with triplets—yeah, Adrien had fainted and Ariana had laughed, having warned him that Fae have multiples—and she was huge, much bigger than Zoe had been with twins. Tikki had been helping and Eli too.

Eli kissed her, "I'm so proud of you. What was your score?

"100%. I didn't even cheat!" She looked at her watch, "I need to be at the station in a half hour."

"Am I the only one who finds it ironic that Zoe is gonna be a cop?" Gabriel leaned in the doorway. Zoe shrugged,

"Meh."

Adrien came through, wearing a sweater vest, jeans, and somehow he still looked really hot. Plagg was walking by his side,

"Adrien, for the love of camembert, go to work."

"You're still sick!"

"Adrien, kitten, I love ya, but it's just allergies and I've been putting up with your mother hen shit for three weeks. Go. To. Fucking. Work."

Zoe giggled, "I can drive you two. I gotta go meet my new partner at the station." Eli smirked,

"Don't get too friendly."

"I thought I was the Queen." She pouted and he looked like a kicked puppy, so she smiled, "I'll bring 'em over for dinner so you can interrogate."

"You know me so well." Marinette waddled over to Adrien, pushing him out the door,

"Adrien, Plagg will be fine, I will be fine, so calm your tits and go to work. You've been dreaming of this job for years." She was less patient with her husband's crap while extremely pregnant.

"Okay, I'm going. Both of you will call me if you feel even the slightest thing wrong. Just give the call and I'll drop everything." Zoe grabbed him by the Fae ear and shoved him into the car as he put on his glasses. Eli had taken to wearing his glasses all the time—or most of the time because reasons—but Adrien got a laser pointer to the eye via Aelin and now needed reading glasses.

They arrived at the school and Adrien hesitated.

"Kitty, sometime this year would be great." Adrien turned,

"You and I both know Marinette and Plagg won't call if they need help. Can you check on them later?" Zoe shrugged,

"Fine. Bye Adrien. Are you walking home or do I need to pick you up?" Adrien shrugged and walked into the same school he had been attending a mere year prior.

Zoe hit the pedal on her blue Toyota Echo, making her way to the station. Brushing down her cherry-blossom-pink pantsuit that her stepmother had lent her. She still had her hair in a braided ponytail though, which was again long.

She came in and was met with a ginger woman a little taller than her with tan skin and brown hair.

"Um, excuse me…I'm looking for Chief Abigail Vick."

"That's me. Mrs. Sommers?" Zoe nodded, and Chief Vick brightened,

"You're right on time."

"I was worried I'd be late. I had to drop my mother hen of a brother off at his first day of work. I do wonder if my kids are gonna get to school on time."

Chief Vick smiled and Zoe was glad as they sat in the office, "You have kids?" Zoe nodded,

"Yeah. I accidentally adopted an eight year old three years ago and I had twins two years ago." The twins weren't even a year old, but they looked two.

"Young mother?"

"Yeah. But I technically finished school at thirteen and just did some redo." Chief Vick was taking notes,

"Other than the fact you have kids, you are the perfect match for our head detective." She got up, "McNab! Go grab Singer!" A man ran off and another man came in,

"Vick?" He was an attractive man, probably in his early thirties, with brown hair and grey eyes. He was in a casual suit and very clearly had a gun at his hip.

Chief Vick nodded her acknowledgment, "Matthew, this is Detective Sommers, your new partner. Sommers, meet Detective Singer."

"Singer?" Zoe looked up, "Like Bobby Singer?" Matthew narrowed his eyes,

"Nope. This isn't gonna work. I can't put up with this shit. It's like that's all that's worth knowing about me!" Zoe giggled,

"I'm sorry. I live with Jared Brock, so those references come every three seconds."

"So…" Chief Vick gave Zoe her badge, "You two go get coffee, and I expect you back in two hours." Zoe grinned, grabbing Matthew,

"To the donut shop!"

And so, she was eating like ten donuts while Matthew read a file.

"What's that file?"

"Nothing for you to worry about." She got up and sat down on his side of the booth, frowning.

"Chat Blanc?" Matthew huffed, before nodding,

"Yeah."

"Are there any pictures? Because how would one know the White Cat otherwise? And why have I never heard about this?"

"Because we haven't disclosed it to fucking Nadja Chamack."

"You hate her too?"

"Who doesn't?"

"This is true. I think the moment I realized I might be in love with my now-husband is when he stole her memory card." That actually got a chuckle out of the other detective.

"Wait, how old are you!?"

"Eighteen."

"What?! Have you had any training?!" Zoe shrugged,

"I've been trained for combat since birth, and I got a perfect score on my test. And I saved the universe while heavily pregnant. And I killed a supervillain at age fourteen." Matthew groaned,

"Oh god. Something tells me this is gonna be a long partnership."

"Only if you have that attitude." She checked her phone,

E (Eli): Hey Zoe, I hate to disturb you, but I can't find the baby food.

Z: Make some

E: ? Help. AH SHIT ROXAS PHASED INTO A VAT AGAIN FUCK! GTG LOVE YOU

She groaned and checked her texts from Adrien

A: First period went well, but I could barely focus. Marinette called and confirmed she's fine and is gonna be working with Dad today, who I know would call me. But can you check on Plagg?

Z: I'm a little busy

A: Please? *sad emoji*

Z: Fine.

"Who are you texting?"

"My husband and by brother. And now I am gonna wait five minutes and make Adrien think I called Plagg so he will calm the fuck down." She sat up, "So tell me about Chat Blanc."

"That's the problem." He flipped through, "There isn't much to tell. She has been described as a little girl no older than ten, she kills criminals. But the police have never seen her. There is only one account, and it was a woman saved by this child from a rapist. They always are murdered, some cleaner than others. She's been around for months and it's getting on my nerves."

"Hm…wanna head to the station now?"

"Yeah."

OoOoO

Plagg was not fine.

For months now, he had felt like absolute shit. That elusive bottle of cold medicine that everyone was looking for was currently being downed faster than Zoe drank vodka. His lungs had been tight had he'd have moments where he couldn't breathe…he'd managed to hide it for the most part, but he had coughed a few times and Adrien was treating it like the end of the world.

So here he was, sitting naked in the shower, breathing in the hot steam, and coughing his lungs out. Occasionally he would hack up a glob of brown phlegm, but more often than not it was blood.

Eight months he had been hiding it. Adrien would kill him if he found out, but this couldn't be serious. Humans get sick all the time. He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't human, but he felt human, now that he could get injured by things that didn't involve FaeBane or Ashwood.

But seriously, he knew back in the early 1900's that parents gave their kids nasty medicine as punishment, but times had changed, so why the hell should it taste so foul now?

He coughed and wheezed until the blood clot in the back of his throat came up and slithered down the drain.

Then he just curled up in a ball and fell asleep on the shower floor surrounded by hot steam.

OoOoO

Zoe came home around ten that night. Eli had dinner ready for her—or rather, he ordered Taco Bell because poor sweet boy could barely cook, which was odd as he took care of himself for twelve years in poverty, but he could make an amazing soup.

"Hey Hero!" She skipped in, kissing him happily.

"How was your first day?"

"It was awesome! My partner is Matthew Singer, the Head Detective. Little closed off, but I think I can work my way in. And now we're researching a serial killer! I'm not supposed to tell anyone because this is supposedly a _secret_ killer, but I'm not keeping anything from you." She dug into the food,

"They call the killer Chat Blanc, because the one person who saw her claimed to see her wearing a white dress and a cat mask. People are thinking she has a Miraculous, but the Cat Miraculous is just a ring as Plagg is…you know…"

"You think there might be another Cat?" Zoe shrugged,

"There are hundreds globally. But the issue is, the PPD doesn't know what to do because she only kills criminals, which has made crime drop more since Ladybug took leave. Because Chat Blanc is killing the criminals, it's counted as vigilantism, but there is a pattern in method and the victims, so it can also be counted as a serial killer. That's why they haven't said anything to the press. If you're not a nightly criminal or a victim that was right there, you wouldn't know she even exists." Eli seemed quite invested,

"That sounds really cool. Think you're gonna get her?" Zoe shrugged,

"Hopefully." She winked, "So how was your day?"

"I forgot to wake Felix to take him to school, so I had to sign him in, still wearing flannel pants. Took Aelin and Roxas to 2's preschool, made sure to give Roxas his cuff to limit his phasing lest he phase into a vat again. Aelin is already quite the social butterfly, though apparently when I went to pick them up, she'd punched a kid who picked on her brother."

"They're two!" Zoe said in exasperation, "Why in the name of sanity should bullying already be a thing?!" Eli just shrugged, "Though I am proud of Aelin."

"Who isn't? She's definitely your daughter."

"Not even a year old, looks two, already protective of her brother. Yup, my kid." She looked up from her food, "What about the others?"

"Your Dad and Emilie still in Tibet doing research with my Mom and Dad." Kelly, Emilie, Harrison and Amelia were in Tibet looked for a way to bring Eden back, safely, by looking through the ruins. "Plagg fell asleep in the shower, and Adrien panicked. Turns out Plagg has a fever, but we managed to convince poor Adrien that it's from exposure to the steam for hours. Marinette is overdue and crabby, Gabriel is working on his newest design with Natalie and Elaine in the kitchen, Dausi and Connor are in Cluj-Napoca for a meeting to sell some of their underwater technology. Amren is sleeping…Camille dragged Jared to the movies, and now they too are asleep and we both know Joselyn is with them."

"What about Felix and Gavin, Melanie and Colin?"

"Felix is at a friend's house for a sleepover because they need to work on a school project. Melanie and Colin have made good progress in moving to Japan. All they need to do is sign the forms. Gavin is reading in the observatory as usual."

"You've done good today, Love." Zoe grinned, before sighing, "I hope Dad has some luck."

"Me too, my Queen, me too."

OoOoO

Something had been going on with Joselyn for a while. Jared knew it had been going on for at least four months.

At first when he woke up because he heard a noise, he saw Joselyn getting up and just assumed she had to use the restroom. Then it happened every night for a week. Okay…maybe she was at _that_ age? Once it was happening constantly, he then hoped she was growing out of sleeping in the same bed as him. But then he went to check when she didn't come back for an hour and didn't see her in her bed.

Then he started hearing the showers. Around three in the morning, he would hear the shower in Joselyn's bathroom, hours after she left.

And so, he decided he was going to find out what exactly was happening. He had tried asking about it, and she said she was hungry and needed a snack. But he didn't accept that as an answer, though he made it seem like he'd dropped it.

So he pretended to be asleep, having taken a voice memo of his sleep pattern so she would think he was asleep. But once she left the room, he got up and followed her quietly, noticing her go into Eden's room—the one room the housekeepers didn't go into, coming out with a tiny…thing. Then she shifted into her other form, creeping out the front door.

He put a jacket on and continued to follow her, realizing he had slipped on Eli's boots in the dark as they were uncomfortably small.

Jared finally caught up with her and saw she had put her mask on and was killing someone. The _thing_ turned out to be a scalpel. There were four men tied up and she was killing the first.

He wanted to intervene, but then he noticed the bags of cocaine in the corner of the dark alley. Oh. Then he had another reason to intervene. He stepped into view. The drug dealers looked excited like they had been saved, but Jared just crossed his arms,

"No no no, Joselyn." He said, "That is not how you kill someone properly." The men deflated visibly. Joselyn turned and even though she had the mask, he could tell she had blanched.

"J-Jared?!"

"The one and only—actually that's not true, there is another version of me somewhere…but you know what I mean." He kicked one of the men, "I'll ask questions later. But that tiny thing isn't gonna help you. Here," he pulled out the dirk he kept with him, "Try this." Joselyn took the knife, before killing the men much faster.

"And try going for the heart instead of the jugular. Less blood that way." Joselyn blinked at him, before killing the last man. Jared nodded approvingly, "I've taught you so well."

"You've taught me two things."

"And look how much faster and cleaner that was." She shifted from her other form back into everyday Joselyn, whose arms and face were covered in blood.

"Okay, now I'm gonna ask why you're out killing people at night." Joselyn bit her lip, before cupping the face of each of her victims, eating the souls.

"As I said, I was hungry."

"Well yeah, but when I'm hungry, I go get something from the fridge." Joselyn brushed a strand of hair away as he led her to the fountain the the park, dipping a rag in the water and cleaning off her face.

"It's not…that kind of hungry." She explained, "Ever since the war, animal souls don't sustain me anymore. I don't eat normal food for sustenance. And lately, it's been more and more…I already ate all the pedophiles in the area and a couple burglars and the occasional rapist."

"That makes sense. You are growing. And you could always go to places with Mob bosses." Joselyn shrugged,

"Haven't found one yet. The police know I exist, otherwise I would ask to feed on those on death row." Jared pursed his lips,

"Okay. Are you satisfied with your feeding tonight?" Joselyn nodded, and Jared took her hand, "Where do you want to go?"

"You know it's my birthday?" He looked down, shocked, and she blushed, "Oh! I thought you knew because you asked me…um…"

"Happy birthday, kid. Nine, right?" Joselyn nodded,

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen. Anyway, where do you want to go?"

"I've only been to McDonald's once, with you right before the war. Can we go again." He grinned,

"Sure. Then tomorrow, pack your bags and we're leaving with Cam."

"Where and why?"

"We're going to my world." He replied, "There are plenty of bad guys for you to feast on. Oh shit…" he laughed, "I just realized the president thought I would call him. That was last year." He shrugged, "At least I called Gina and Kagami to tell them I'm okay."

"You'd do that for me?" Jared nodded,

"Yeah. I'll help you if you promise me something." She looked up curiously, "Promise me, Joselyn. No innocents, no children." She nodded, hugging him—though she was very small compared to him, so she barely wrapped her arms around his waist,

"I promise. Thank you!"

"No problem. First order of business when we arrive is to get you a) some more combat-friendly clothes, b) your own weapons so you don't use that scalpel, and c) your own stash of metal music."

"Are we going to your world now instead of waiting so Zoe doesn't stop you from teaching me your ways?"

"I'm not gonna even try denying that."

**A/N: That is chapter 1. So obviously this one will be much longer, because there are so many characters and their own situations. Remember to review to feed the author kwami, and if you want to see Joselyn's adventure or more on Zoe, or even Plagg.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Gizmo**

It took a couple hours, but Jared and Cam got Joselyn some new clothes. Most of the girls in the family—Zoe didn't give a fuck really—wanted Joselyn to act like a normal little girl with the Barbies and girly shit. But Jared and Camille knew Joselyn Carpenter was a tomboy at heart, and she actually went into the boy's section to find clothes so she wouldn't have to deal with the PaStEl CoLoRs that she apparently detested, pointing out that all the annoying good guys wore pastel colors, but those were the characters marketed *cough* the new She-ra remake where the bad guys are the characters we root for *cough*

Her outfit consisted of a green and black plaid shirt over a grey T-shirt, black jeans, and brown combat boots. Her long brown hair was also now merely to her shoulders—just long enough to be in braided pigtails. Other than the pigtails and her eye color, she looked like a mini girl version of Jared.

Landing on Blight, Jared noticed Joselyn was nervous, and also quite pale. She hadn't fed today and it was almost the witching hour. If she didn't feed every twenty-four hours, Iku came out and forced a feed. That had been an interesting discovery and some jackass who was holding up the line and being an idiot paid the price.

"Joselyn, just remember those meditations we practiced on the ride here, and don't eat my friends. I'll find you a soul to munch on, but in a little bit." Joselyn nodded and looked up with big blue-violet eyes.

"I'm nervous." He ruffled her hair,

"Don't be. Kagami might do some scans and will make you memorize the rules of chess, but Gina has games, guns and music."

And then they were attacked by monsters.

They looked human enough, but were also rotting away. Zombies? Looked like it.

Joselyn shifted into her other form and leapt into the air, summoning a dirk into her hand and slicing through them all in seconds. She was definitely getting stronger. Bright lights illuminated the early evening as Joselyn got her daily feed in. Apparently zombies have souls? Who knew. At least Joselyn wouldn't eat anyone.

"That was convenient." Camille mused.

"Jared!" Jared turned and saw both Kagami and Gina running towards him, hugging him tightly.

"Hey guys."

"Don't you 'hey guys' us!" Gina snapped, "You're been gone for a year and only called weekly starting five months ago! We haven't actually spoken in person since the ice waste!"

"Sorry about that…I've been a little busy." Kagami raised an eyebrow,

"Like…?"

"Saving the multiverse, getting trapped in the Dark Realm, babysitting, finally having a love life—are ya happy now, Kagami?—that kind of thing." He pulled Joselyn out from behind his legs, "This is Joselyn Carpenter."

"Carpenter? Like Kelly?" Gina asked, "And that little Nephilim baby?"

"Joselyn is Kelly's kid. But ever since Eden died, he's been closed off and working to bring her back, and this one seems more comfortable with me and Cam. We have a bit of a situation involving her."

"Situation?" Kagami looked her over, "What situation?"

"She eats souls instead of food for sustenance and the police on her world know she exists. She needs four or five lest she turn into a demonic monster and start a killing spree. Learned that last part the hard way last night." Joselyn flushed.

"So she's Amara?" Gina asked. Camille laughed,

"Pretty much. No, Jared already checked, she doesn't have the Mark of Cain." Gina brightened and turned to Cam,

"I take it you're Camille." She nodded,

"Cam for short." Kagami looked to Jared with a playful smirk,

"I told you to get a girlfriend, I did not expect you to get a girl like _that_." Jared flipped her off. Gina just laughed at her friend's antics,

"Come on, guys. Jared, get ready for an earful from the president. Joselyn, I hope you like metal music." Joselyn brightened and gladly followed the redhead.

OoOoO

Marinette hated being pregnant.

Yes, she had always dreamed of having children. But try being pregnant and overdue with Fae triplets! She had been pregnant for eleven fucking months! Fae babies were usually multiples, but they were in the womb longer because of this, and on average was ten and a half months. Okay, that was manageable.

Or so she thought, because not only did they wriggle and cause contractions every three seconds, they kept growing! She felt like at this rate she would give birth to three full grown people!

People kept telling her how big she was getting and loved to touch her for some reason. No. She wanted to sleep on her back without feeling crushed, or her stomach, which she couldn't with fucking triplets in her.

Gabriel was being very supportive about it—Adrien mostly panicked and while it was adorable, it wasn't helpful—getting her a chair in the office specifically for pregnant women, and if she wanted something while Adrien was at school—either for learning to teaching, the hours were the same—he got her things.

She was grateful to her family, understood everyone's hatred for Nadja Chamack—who she personally hadn't had a problem with until Nadja grabbed her for an interview and started asking all kinds of unsettling questions on camera!—and in general just wanted this stupid pregnancy to be over.

Right now, Gabriel wasn't being so helpful.

"Gabe, can you get me coffee?" Gabriel didn't look up from his work,

"Pregnant women can't drink coffee." Now, she would respect this normally, if she wasn't nearly a year pregnant, felt like a whale, and hadn't slept the previous night. That, and the hormones were coming quick. Warning: because of Fae baby hormones, she could either kill or sob in three seconds. Sober, tired, swollen and hungry, approach with caution.

"Does it look like I care, _Hawk Moth_!" Gabriel looked up, pushing his glasses up, before smirking. He grabbed the box of Oreos,

"Here. Have some Oreos." He did the unthinkable.

He put the box on the floor.

So since she couldn't get out of the chair, let alone bend down, the Oreos were _just_ out of her reach. Gabriel had said he'd changed. This was unacceptable, this was worthy of prison. Gabriel just flipped her off.

When Nino had seen the designer behaving like a mischievous young adult, he also screamed. Because how was this the same man who banned his son from a birthday party?! The joke was that Zoe corrupted him…or fixed. Hard to tell which at times.

"I do care." Gabriel replied, "Those are my grandchildren you're carrying. Even though there's the whole thing about me being your age." He shrugged.

"I _hate_ you!" Marinette snapped, "So now you care about your flesh and blood!" She was still bitter about having not been told for two years. If Adrien had just explained the situation, she would have tried helping. But no, she was bitter. It wasn't abnormal for the two of them to be verbally at each other's throat, but still get the daily work done. Like it or not, they worked well together. Gabriel had long since stopped taking what she said to heart, and now he just retaliated—see the Oreos on the floor.

"I'm not a total dick, ya know." He said, "Otherwise I would have started eating them right in front of you."

"That's debatable, Mr. You can't have coffee and now imma tease you with the Oreos." Gabriel smirked, and then grabbed the Oreos, eating one, before putting it further away on the floor.

"That's what you get for being a salty bitch." He continued working.

"I'm a salty _pregnant_ bitch."

Gabriel just rolled his eyes, "You can't even stand. I'm not afraid of you."

"I have the power of Grandchildren and Adrien on my side, who has the power of wind, shapeshifting, God, and anime."

"Adrien is either working, grading shit, or fussing over Plagg—who is clearly not fine regardless of what he says." Marinette huffed when she realized she couldn't deny that. She glared,

"Gabe, can you come three feet closer?" Gabriel just completely ignored her, knowing coming closer meant getting strangled. He was still working. It was a really good piece, she could admit that, but he was getting on her nerves, "How are you my father-in-law?"

"The question is _should_ I be. You married my kid, duh. Anyway, ya gonna work or can I go work in the kitchen? Working here is quite uncomfortable." Since Gavin had chosen the observatory as his bedroom, the atelier was now a big study room for the kids, because Gabriel also worked in the kitchen where Natalie was haunting it. But Marinette hated going up or down stairs so…

"I still want that coffee."

"And I want to drink something other than pink wine, but that ain't gonna happen either."

Marinette just grumbled.

OoOoO

"Jared, look at this." Jared froze, because the last time she had said that, Zoe had been pregnant, she fainted, and then a shrieking Felix almost brought the building down. But this was better than that conversation with the president, which boiled down to three hours of "where the fuck were you?!"

"Yeah?" This time Adrien's bad luck curse didn't make him trip, so he made it to his surrogate-sister with no issue.

"It's about Joselyn."

"What about her?" Kagami looked up,

"Did you know she has Dissociative identity disorder."

Jared frowned, "Joselyn has a second personality?" Kagami frowned at her computer,

"Not exactly…the basics of the disorder fit, but this personality doesn't come from her. Almost like a separate being that latched on, probably in infancy." She looked up, "But that does explain why she eats souls—she's keeping the other personality alive. You mentioned Iku, a demonic killer if she doesn't feed after twenty-four hours. That is a _completely_ different person from Joselyn."

"So we get it out then." Jared crossed his arms, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind being a normal Worldbender kid."

"That's the problem. I've already tried. She shifted and went feral. We had to knock her out, and _Joselyn_ currently has no memory of anything after the scans."

"So what do we do about it?"

"Stay with her, support her, don't let Iku know that you know the two are different…and see where things go from there." Jared nodded and went to go check on Joselyn.

"Hey kid." Joselyn looked up,

"Did Ms. Kagami tell you what I did? I'm sorry. I promised not to hurt innocents." he sat down with her,

"It wasn't you. Kagami accidentally triggered your feral side. When I made you promise, I meant when you're in your right mind. And nobody was really hurt, though you did scare Marc shitless—but scaring the shit out of someone is just funny." Joselyn giggled,

"I'll try harder." He ruffled her hair,

"There you go. Just practice to get better, don't sulk about it." Camille came in,

"Hey guys. So more zombies have been spotted a couple miles out. Kagami wants to try _storing_ souls, so we can keep Joselyn tame in the event we're without someone for her to feed on."

"Perfect." Jared picked Joselyn up, "Time to teach you to ride a motorcycle."

"I know how. One of the many people I fed on knew how, so I learned."

"Damn. Just wear a helmet."

OoOoO

Joselyn, as it turned out, was the best out of all of them with a motorcycle. They'd had one they kept in storage that was too small for them, but Joselyn fit it perfectly.

Camille just rode with Jared, watching Joselyn screaming in excitement and doing crazy stunts.

"She's having more fun here than she did on her world."

"Yeah." Jared agreed, "But I think it's because here she can learn who she is. I just hope Iku doesn't ruin this for her." Joselyn was a nine year old girl, spent the first eight years trying to be like her possessed-mother, and the ninth was spent mourning her sister, babysitting her niece and nephew, and having to hide her needs for fear of judgement. Jared realized that if Joselyn had been born on this world, things would have been much easier as she learned from everyone she fed on. She had consumed over three million souls at this point, so she was easily one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Would she have been able to take down Anti-Dausi?

When Jared thought about it, she would have. She had been able to use her powers to push Iku into that nightmare world to help pull him out, she had survived the sand, and had survived the war. He just didn't want to see this power hurt her in the long run.

Apparently the zombies were easy enough to kill, it was just the numbers. Just being overwhelmed by numbers.

Gina rode over close to Jared and Cam, "That kid's awesome."

"She is."

"THIS IS SO FUN!" Jared couldn't help but smile, seeing Joselyn speeding ahead, her hair blowing in the wind.

They found the zombies quickly—it was still unknown what was causing them, but it was the leading theory that someone like the Blight version of Ladybug had taken to attacking—just chilling in a junkyard. There were a couple dead bodies around, but no more than three. There were like five hundred zombies scattered about though.

Joselyn got off the motorcycle, and shifted into her other form, brandishing claws and let the slaughter begin.

Gina's eyes widened, because the numbers were cleaved in half in seconds, and by the time a full minute had passed, the zombies were gone and Joselyn was eating a soul. Kagami came over and sucked some of the floating souls into a jar.

"Let's see how long we can keep this." She said, "As a backup." Then she was flung backwards by a gigantic metal robot.

"Kagami?!" Gina ran over and Jared pulled out his knives, Camille summoning fire. But they didn't have a chance to attack before a small voice made the robot freeze,

"MurderBot! No! Only kill zombies, not people!" The robot looked ashamed of itself, before revealing a girl.

The girl was short and stocky with green eyes and long black hair—with what looked like glitter in it. She wore attire consisting of heavy gloves, boots, arm covers, and a pair of overalls worn like pants with the shoulder straps left loose over a white undershirt that has been blotted with grease. She also had a necklace made of various bolts and screws, held together by a wire. Her glasses looked old, and were crooked and uneven, suggesting she'd made them herself.

The girl smiled, "Sorry about him." Then she looked to Kagami, "MurderBot! You broke her spine!" Jared ran over to his friend's side and swatted the girl away,

"Get away from her!" He sent a shocked Joselyn a look that told her that eating this kid might be okay. To his surprise, the girl's hair suddenly had a mind of it's own and slapped him, taking Kagami's limp form and carrying it.

"Come on, I can help her." She pulled back a piece of sheet metal, revealing a ladder going underground, "Unless you want her to die. MurderBot, stay here and only kill the ones without heartbeats." The robot nodded and the girl's hair gently lowered Kagami.

"Can I kill her?" Joselyn asked, looking up at Jared. It was definitely a sign of trust if she asked for permission to feed. Gina pursed her lips,

"If Kagami dies, yes."

Camille nodded, "That sounds fair. But we should follow her for now."

They followed her down the ladder and found themselves in a sort of labyrinth. The girl turned on a headlamp and gestured for them to follow.

"Who are you?" Gina asked. The girl turned,

"Gizmo McAllister." She held out a locket she had had around her neck that they didn't notice. The name G McAllister was there, but the letters after G were faded and unrecognizable, "So I named myself Gizmo, due to my tech skills and my love of the movie _Gremlins_."

"What's with your hair?" Camille asked, "Is it magic?"

"No. I fell into a radioactive chemical in my infancy. Now it works like limbs. Besides, magic doesn't exist." They were then in a room with a glowing table and some lights. Gizmo set Kagami down,

"Okay…you guys might want to leave for this. It's gonna get graphic. And I'm gonna have to take her top off." Jared glared,

"You really think I'm going to trust you to be alone with my friend, who had her spine broken by _your_ robot."

"I suppose you have a point." Gizmo shrugged, "Fine. If you want to stay, then stay. But no vomiting. I just cleaned this place." Gina growled, but Gizmo ignored her, pulling out some tools that looked too expensive to be from the junkyard.

"Where did you get those?" Joselyn asked. Gizmo shrugged,

"I'm a junkie. Finder's keepers. If someone leaves their tools outside unattended, I take them. That's how I got MurderBot. I found him on the base the old Ladybug used to use, so I reprogrammed and now he is by friend and protector." She sliced through Kagami's shirt, before cutting into the skin. Nobody was squeamish, so they kept watching the young girl as she performed surgery, mending the spine by adding metal reinforcements before closing her back up.

"She'll live. I have a spare shirt in the closet. I do suggest not doing any yoga or unnecessary bending for a while. But walking won't be a problem. Yes, it is safe to carry her."

"Thank you." Camille—easily the calmest and most level-headed of their group—went and grabbed that spare shirt, which was on the small side, but would work. Gizmo was looking at Joselyn curiously while Gina and Jared still had weapons ready to use.

"You look my age." Gizmo mused, "I don't meet people my age, or people in general other than when I'm observing them."

"How old are you?" Gina asked. Gizmo shrugged,

"I think I'm ten. But it's hard to tell when you don't know your own birthday. I can remember seven years, and I hear it's abnormal for children to remember anything before the age of three, so by process of elimination, I'm ten."

"And you've lived in this junkyard your whole life?!"

"Well yeah. From what I understand, my parents were killed by some assassin called Viperion. So why wouldn't I live alone?" Camille gasped, gripping Gizmo in a tight hug,

"We're taking her with us."

"She almost killed Kagami!" Gina snapped in shock. Camille sent the redhead a dirty look, but Jared knew fighting his girlfriend on this would only end in tragedy. She was powerful, and could very easily force her will on them. The man is the head, he directs the house; but the woman is the neck, she can turn the head any way she wants to.

"Fine. Besides, maybe she can help with the Joselyn situation." Camille hugged him, grinning. Gizmo looked startled,

"Huh?"

"You're coming with us." Jared said reluctantly, "In exchange for getting you out of this dumpster and giving you access to other technology, you need to help Joselyn handle her powers." Gizmo nodded eagerly, before cocking her head,

"Powers?" Camille nodded,

"Yeah. Magic is real, and Joselyn has a lot of it. She also eats souls, so we're trying to get a handle on that."

"Fascinating. I'm in! But can I bring MurderBot?"

"As long as you do some more tweaking." Gina replied. Gizmo shrugged,

"Don't have to. MurderBot is programed to protect me. As long as I insist you guys mean no harm, it's fine."

"Well look at that," Joselyn said cheerfully, "I'm finally gonna have a friend my age."

_Well,_ Jared mused, _at least one good thing came of this._

OoOoO

Millard waited patiently at the dinner table for Eden—wait, no, Aurora. He'd discovered that using her real name started triggering memories, so he needed to use her different name.

He didn't want to use her as he was, but if he was to defeat the Enchantress, he needed a warrior who could defeat her. Who better than the child of a Worldbender and a DemiGod like himself? Because Eden—Aurora—had no memory but trusted him, he could tell her anything and she believed it, so it technically wasn't against her will.

Aurora came in, her hair tied up in a messy bun. She wore a two-toned orange tank-top over magenta torn leggings, and red heels. Her eyes were still grey instead of sea-green, but she made the color work. Besides, with the makeup and the lack of stress, she looked like a completely different person than Eden Imelda.

No, she wasn't a Darkling. He really brought her back. But the Blind Eternities were a merciless thing, so her soul was almost wiped clean. It was possible to get it back, and once he got what he needed from her, he would ensure she got her memory back. He didn't even need to impregnate her, he just needed her DNA and blessing—something he knew Eden Imelda Carpenter would not give, but Aurora Darbonne very well might.

But a blessing wasn't a simple "Sure, fine, whatever, I don't care" it had to be something done with all her heart. So he had to charm her, keep her happy, and make her fall in love with him. He did pray the Blind Eternities had wiped away her lesbian sexuality to make this easier.

Yes, the child would be a baby, but magical children aged fast.

He didn't want to do this, but it was for the greater good. He was also reteaching her to use her powers in hopes she'd be able to defeat the Enchantress herself. He knew he was an evil man for doing this, but he was much better than his sister would be if she won. She was getting much stronger, stronger by the second, and it wouldn't be long before she started taking command of her vessel.

"So Aurora," he mused, eating his food, "Are you well?"

"Yes sir." She replied, "I am well." He tried to suppress a groan. Soulless people, Darklings, those who's souls were wiped clean, undead, they were all so boring to talk to. They only said the bare fucking minimum.

"Want to elaborate?"

"I observed the little girl like you said." Aurora replied blandly, "She seemed normal. Good fire skills, but nothing out of the ordinary. She is quite protective of her brother for some reason." Wait, that wasn't right. Brother?

"Which little girl did you watch?"

"Aelin Sommers, the Worldbender child."

"No." Millard massaged his temples, "That's the elder Worldbender's daughter. I asked you to keep an eye on the younger Worldbender, Joselyn Carpenter—or honestly, it might as well be Brock at this point."

"Joselyn Brock?" Aurora frowned, "Oops. Sorry." There was no emotion in her tone. He took a long sip. It was getting to the point he was debating going to the eldest and saying "Um, hi, need help." but the second she found out he had her sister, he'd be screwed. The youngest was out of the options, so that left the middle child. He supposed he could create a Worldbender himself—that was it! He'd go create a Worldbender himself, then that would be perfect! No need to deal with this shit.

Aurora didn't seem to care about his sudden excitement. Finally, the Enchantress wouldn't be a threat to the multiverse anymore! YES! Though he had to admit, Eden still needed time to get her memory back, he couldn't just fix her with a snap of his fingers, so he'd have to keep her around for a little bit, then deliver her. If things went to shit, he also had Douglas locked down in the dungeons.

He'd brought Douglas back because he was able of controlling the Warlock, Eli. He had not known at the time that this was through physical, emotional, mental and sexual torture—he honestly had thought maybe they were friends, so learning about the truth had made him feel sick with himself. He wasn't gonna put up with a rapist for even a second, so he had the bastard in his scary dungeon with the oversized rats. Millard had been planning to send the bastard back to hell, but decided to use him in the event the Sommers family became a problem.

If Iku broke free of her vessel—or worse, took another, stronger vessel like the young man who could command Totem Armor—then the multiverse would be doomed. So if he had to be the bad guy, fine. Then he was the bad guy.

But there was a difference between bad guy and a monster, and he would do everything he could to prevent crossing that line.

**A/N: More story right there. Gizmo is gonna be a fun character. Millard has more context, Eden/Aurora is fine if not kind of soulless. **

**Just as a head's up, there will be multiple time jumps in this story. **

**So next chapter vote! Options: Kelly and team in Tibet, the team at the mansion, the team on Blight, more with Millard and Eden/Aurora…choose!**

**How the voting works is you mention two, one is the chapter's main focus, one is the secondary, lesser, focus, and then one other might appear but won't have much focus. Also mention which character you want to have more focus on. **

**For example, focus on Gizmo on Blight, and see the team in Tibet.**

**And just review in general, because author kwami needs food and votes hardly count, but they still do.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Dreams or Nightmares?**

Joselyn didn't know where she was. She remembered going to sleep, and now she was here.

She had been here many times before, but this time it was different. The normally dead forest was a village. People buzzed around, dancing and singing. Rustic cabins dotted the grassy hills as trees stood up like spikes, zigzagging the border of brick roads and unpolished homes. Rivers streamed through deep valleys. The wind was chill, and the stars burned with the brilliant sapphire pallor of electric light.

But what caught Joselyn's attention was not the festival, but the mural in the center, painted onto the church.

It was Plagg.

He looked different, clearly noble Fae, and dear god he got the noble part right. Wearing dark blue regal attire with a black, obsidian crown, housing a gem darker than anything she had ever seen, but also seemed to be the brightest thing on him. He also looked much healthier, so much so that Joselyn only now realized how _un_healthy he was as High Fae. Maybe he really was sick…

On the other side was Tikki, who wore a deep violet gown, a white crown that housed a pink gem. Her hair was longer, flowing down her back, instead of the pixie cut she had now.

At the foot of the mural were hundreds of offerings from the villagers. She couldn't hear what was being said, but it was clear these two were praised and treated like royalty. This had to have been thousands of years ago, because they were clearly not bound to anything, but she noticed Tikki was wearing the earrings and Plagg was wearing the ring.

The people were having a ball in the square, or so it seemed as she couldn't hear what the hell they were saying. Some had the mask of the cat, and others had masks like that of the current Ladybug. Plagg and Tikki were nowhere to be found, but judging by how small the town was, this was to be expected.

Then she felt a sick feeling in her stomach, but also a sense of familiarity. She turned saw the townspeople look in her direction, and one woman screamed while an infant started crying. For a moment, she thought they were looking at her, before she turned and saw the true culprit of their fright.

Tall, thin, pale as the full moon; still; vigilant; staring like a cobra seeking her prey; wide eyes, black as inky pools; dark shadows under sunken eyes; hardened features; immobile face; gaunt; hair slicked back; deep shadows under protruding cheek bones; evil glint in her eyes; slow movements; moves as if she had no bones at all; bright false smile.

It was in this moment that Joselyn realized she could hear what was going on.

"The Enchantress!" One man gasped, guarding a young woman and a couple children. All the me got out weapons. The Enchantress smirked maliciously, revealing pearly white teeth.

"You want to see a true god? I'm happy to oblige." Then, she began to sing,

_"__Shadow cold and dark_

_Make the final plea._

_Take the sands of time_

_And set the spirit free…"_

Joselyn almost shrieked as all the plants died around them, the buildings started rotting, and the children started falling to their knees.

_"__Wither and decay_

_End this destiny_

_Break these earthly chains_

_And set the spirit free.._

_The spirit free"_

The people lay like dolls over the stone, limbs at awkward angles and heads held in such a way that they could not be sleeping. These bodies, once the repositories of people as alive as Joselyn herself was, now abandoned shells left to rot in the open. Who would bury them and weep salty tears onto their grave? Likely nobody at all. Some would be consumed by the wildlife and others simply decay, slowly giving up their flesh to the soil and showing their white bones to the sun.

Genocide, eight letters to describe more murders and pain than the human mind can take in. After one or two deaths there is a catastrophic malfunction and no more is understood, no more emotion forthcoming. One dead child is a tragedy, a thousand of them is a news report between adverts. She was here though, she was here on the ground surrounded by the bodies of innocents, unable to comprehend how someone or something could do this.

She closed then opened her eyes and gasped in a breath, but nothing came and she choked on her own dry tongue. There was no air in the now menacing world; lack of oxygen descended on her mind in a panic. In desperation, she sucked in another breath, burning her lungs with a ferocity that consumed her. Mist descended on her eyes. Through the misty veil surrounding her eyes she could barely make out dead white trees like bony fingers stretching for the dark sky—the stars that had been so peaceful and welcoming, now suffocating and terrifying. She could feel her heart beating against my rib cage, slowing every second.

Joselyn was shaking, noticing she was in her other form with the dirty white dress. She tried pinching herself, to wake up from whatever nightmare this was. _Wake up, Jos. Wake up!_

"Sister!" Both Joselyn and the Enchantress turned and saw a young man. He was tall, likely 6'3, heavily muscled, and handsome, with a tanned complexion. He had long golden hair and turquoise eyes.

"Why are you doing this!" He asked, and he looked devastated. Where he stood, the grass was alive in a perfect little circle. The Enchantress shrugged,

"I felt like it."

"These were innocent people! Are you just bitter that we aren't celebrated like the Fae! For the last time, we are not meant to be worshipped! We work from behind the scenes! You're insane!"

"I am nothing more than a visionary with a dream." The Enchantress said calmly, "I don't care what you think of me as long as you don't get in my way. I acknowledge that I have odd methods, but they work. I know what life should be like and I understand that many things and creatures are inferior to me. In my position, it is simply mercy. I know if I don't save them with the wonders of death, they will die in the horror of life. This doesn't concern you, Vita." She snapped, "Just go make your babies and rainbows." Vita shed a tear.

"I thought that maybe if we spoke, you would listen. But you've given me no choice…" Then the Enchantress froze as roots shot up,

"What are you doing!?" She shrieked, "Stop!"

"I love you, sister." Vita started crying as he did this, "I really do. But if I had to choose between you and the greater good…I'm sorry." The Enchantress screamed a final time as she was encased in a tree.

Vita fell to his knees at the foot of the tree, placing his hand on it,

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

Joselyn snapped awake in a cold sweat.

"Son of a bitch, it was just a dream…" She rubbed her eyes, noticing the sun not even peeking over the horizon. It was doubtful anyone was awake.

Out of habit, she turned to make sure Jared and Camille were asleep, but then remembered that she had felt safer on Blight than anywhere else. No more nightmares of the war. She felt truly happy, like she had finally found where she belonged. She didn't need to sleep with others for comfort.

She loved her family to death, but she was constantly afraid of disappointing them. Her Dad was trying to safely being Eden back and had been gone for a few months—she understood perfectly and didn't blame him—Zoe and Eli were caring for the twins, namely Roxas. Adrien took care of Marinette and Plagg, with the help of Gabriel. Tikki and the other kwamis worked. Dausi and Connor worked around. And the other kids… Felix was practically a teenager, Gavin was six, Elaine was five physically, the twins were two physically. She was just at that spot where there wasn't anyone her age.

So, she started seeing Jared and Cam as her family. They cared, they listened, and they let her figure herself out.

Getting up and changing out of her pajamas—which was a white tank top and shorts, instead of those nightgowns her stepmother had gotten her—she walked downstairs to get some food, trying to work out her dream.

To Joselyn's surprise, Gizmo was awake. More than awake, she and MurderBot were cooking. It was funny seeing the giant robot in a tiny apron.

"Gizmo?" Gizmo turned, grinning in a more cheerful manner than Joselyn thought possible of someone awake at this hour.

"Good morning!" Her hair went to the coffee machine and poured two cups, giving one to Joselyn and one to Gizmo herself, "Creme and sugar? Or just black?"

"A little creme." Gizmo grabbed the creme, than came and sat with her while her hair helped MurderBot cook. Joselyn frowned, "Is your hair getting longer?" When she had seen it before, it was down her back, but now it was easily spreading around the room.

"No. I keep it in hair ties usually. It tends to grow as I do. Keeping it in hair ties keeps it in check. It's almost like extra limbs." She took a sip of her coffee, "It's not even four in the morning."

"Weird dream." She couldn't call it a nightmare. Sure, she had been scared while in it, but looking back, she could almost smile.

She felt sick with herself for that.

"Care to elaborate?" Gizmo pulled out a journal, "If we're going to find out this Iku thing, maybe you need to express your dreams."

"It wasn't like other dreams." Joselyn started, "It seemed to be in the past. There was a festival of the sort going, then a woman came. She sang a song and…everyone died. Then a man, Vita, showed up. They argued, then he locked the Enchantress in a tree. I woke up as he was sobbing and apologizing."

"Sounds like the balance. Life, Vita, and Death, Iku. It seems you saw Iku's memory."

"You think?" Gizmo shrugged,

"It also seems you wonder about death, if that's the memory. From what I've read, in situations like yours—or something similar—it starts with earlier memories or even hearing thoughts. That memory is either important, or connected to you."

"I do wonder about death." She admitted reluctantly, "My older sister died about a year ago, and I was in a war before that, where I myself killed many. And even before that, I watched my mother die. I guess the thought has come up." Now she understood the appeal of knowing people her own age. It was hard, because they didn't understand, even at school. Gizmo was odd, an outcast, just like her. And it just felt easier than telling Jared and Camille, not like she wouldn't tell them, it was just easier with someone her own age.

Gizmo shrugged, "Death is straightforward. It is not a gate to immortality, simply a departure from life. It has no pattern in which those of from the Great Beyond control. And it will be there until the time comes for the world to end." It was strange how knowledgeable and stoic Gizmo was in this moment, almost like she had been on the receiving end of this talk, or had learned it the hard way,

"Death is inevitable." She continued, "He will turn a blind eye to right and wrong, to give the Eternal Slumber in return for the life of any man, woman, or child no matter how favorable. He does not discriminate, unlike the vastly different human race. He is neither fair nor unfair, unmoved by the prayers that grasp him through the nights and days. The sooner we all realize how impermanent our life is, the less entangled we will get in superficial things, things that bring pain within our hearts. Allowing the thought of death to enter our minds is something that seems surreal and scary, however it provides us with true feelings and guidance. Death will eventually come, it could be today, it could be tomorrow or it could be in many years. So why do we dwell on the thought of death? Every day there's people dying, every second someone is saying goodbye to their loved ones. Why do we allow death to scare us?"

"I'm not afraid of death." Joselyn muttered, "I never have. But you can't exactly tell people that."

"I know, right!" Gizmo threw her hands up in exasperation, "If an old guy says stuff like this, it's wise and philosophical. But if a kid like you or me says it, we're pumped with medications and sent to mental institutions. There is a difference between _wanting_ death and not being afraid of it, and that is something most haven't learned yet."

MurderBot came over with waffles and the two girls dug in. Gizmo looked up from her food,

"So, Kagami told me that I needed to observe you over the next couple weeks to take notes on patterns of behavior and seeing ways to activate Iku."

"Why would we want to activate her? Isn't the goal to get her out of me?"

"Not necessarily." Gizmo pulled out some files, "I have insomnia, so I've been up all night looking over files and scanning databases. I did some research, and the Sumerian myth seems close to what this is. But once you mentioned Vita, I did a little more digging and found an article."

"What does it say?"

Gizmo cleared her throat, "Iku was the Goddess of Death, ruler of the land of the dead, commonly referred to as The Enchantress, due to her song that brought death to all surrounding it. She controlled the destiny of the deceased in their journey beyond the grave. Legend has it that Iku was unwillingly taken down to the Underworld, and ruled there. The Underworld was her domain, and she was in control of all those within its bounds, as well as the laws made there or passed."

"Okay… but it doesn't seem Iku was _trapped_ in the underworld."

"I'm not done. One of the myths surrounding Iku was that of Vita's descent to the Underworld. Vita, God of Life, brother of Iku, passed through the seven gates of hell on a journey to visit his sister. He was required to remove a piece of his attire at each gate, arriving at the throne room naked and vulnerable. Iku, plan in motion, tried to strike him down. She mortally wounded him, but did not kill him. Because of this, he became much weaker and needed time to recover. Iku took her brother's injury to her advantage and broke free of the underworld, killing all who crossed her path. But Vita refused to let her win, using the last of his strength to bind her into a tree. It's unknown what happened to him after this, and it was said Iku would never return…"

"So Iku broke free and Vita might be the only one who can beat her."

"There's only one way to find out." Joselyn raised an eyebrow at the other girl,

"How would we do that?" Gizmo gave her a smirk that screamed whatever came out of her mouth was going to be an insane, suicidal idea.

"We ask her."

OoOoO

Zoe and Eli sat in their kids' preschool classroom. The Little English Montessori School wasn't a bad school, but the two parents were not enjoying the conversation here.

The teacher, Ms. Turner, seemed to be in her mid to late thirties, and they could tell just by her body language that she was unsure if this was actually the parents, or two older siblings pretending to be the parents.

"Mr and Mrs. Sommers." Both nodded, and Ms. Turner crossed her arms, "This is about your children, Roxas and Aelin."

"Well I would be confused if it wasn't." Zoe snapped, "I had to walk out of work for this, so how about you get to the chase. I have stuff to do."

"It has come to my attention, that children have been picking on Roxas—small things like name calling, pushing him around and taking his stuff—not that big a deal. Kids do that. However, Aelin takes it upon herself to not let the teacher handle it and has literally attacked the kid in question. I've been getting parent complaints." Zoe chuckled,

"That's my girl." Eli was more focused on the other issue,

"So you're saying that our son is being bullied, and only the person defending him is getting punished. How, pray tell, do you handle bullies."

"Normally a time out for a minute, and then they continue with their activities." That got Zoe's attention as well,

"So basically you're teaching these toddlers that it's _okay_ to bully impaired people, and also showing a full minute of patience." Ms. Turner paused, not liking how this had been turned around on her,

"I—"

"And here's the thing." Zoe stood up, "Most preschoolers are curious, but not cruel. They have not yet learned the negative attitudes about blindness that are prevalent in our society. The children will mostly take their cues from _you_. If you have lower expectations or treat the blind child with condescension, then the other children will likely decide that its okay to ignore or belittle our son. So this encounter makes me question _your_ teaching methods."

It was in this moment that Ms. Turner truly realized this was the mother of the twins. No older sister could mimic a mother's protectiveness.

"Fine, maybe I didn't help the Roxas being bullied situation." She admitted, "But that is no excuse for Aelin's behavior!"

"Is what she's doing every unprovoked?" Ms. Turner thought about it, before paling and shaking her head. "Is it ever anything dangerous like using a pencil as a knife?" Another shake of the head, "Is it any worse than what kids do to Roxas?" A nod, but only slightly, as though lying.

Eli crossed his arms, "I've been recording this." Zoe smirked while Ms. Turner paled even more, "So I'm going to be having a talk with the parents, then going to the principal."

"I don't encourage bullying!" Ms. Turner snapped, "I admit maybe I don't discipline them as I should, but I'm not telling them to pick on him! And I punish Aelin by sending her to sit in the office!"

"So you're saying that you punish the person defending the blind child and don't do anything to the bully." Eli cocked his head, "You're not helping your argument."

"I was just going to suggest sending him to a school for blind children! I didn't plan to have you laser in on things!"

"We're both the kids of business men." Eli said calmly, "And my wife is a cop. We don't let people talk in circles like you were going to. If you had calmly told us that Roxas was being picked on and Aelin was going a little overboard, we would have talked to her and spoken to the other parents, something I should be doing anyway. However, you glossed over the root of the problem to protect yourself. But now we know that if those kids grow up to be brutes and brats, you are to thank." Zoe stood up and took his hand, grabbing the twins from where they were playing with another kid, Katie.

Katie's mother, Sherry, turned, grinning broadly. She was a pear-shaped woman, mid to late twenties, with ringlets of honey blonde hair and pale green eyes—a little paler than even Adrien's. Katie took after her completely.

"Hey guys! Here for the twins?" Eli nodded.

"Mama! Dada!" Both kids ran over and hugged their parents. Eli bent down and picked them both up.

"Thanks Sherry."

"Any time. Those two are little darlings." Zoe crossed her arms,

"Say Sherry, have you or Katie noticed any prejudice against Roxas in class?" Sherry nodded,

"I assumed maybe it was a parental request, but she tends to treat him a lot differently it's kind of condescending. It's amusing to me that she treats him like he can't do anything when he's one of the smartest in the class, and one of the friendliest. Aelin is very friendly as well. But the other kids seem to think being blind is bad due to what their teacher does. Katie actually asked me why they thought it was bad, claiming that while it's different, it doesn't change that he's nice and very open."

Eli grinned, setting the kids back down and letting them play. He noticed that Katie was handing Roxas different things and identifying them, and showing him how to play with them. It wasn't in a manner that she was stating the obvious and sounding patronizing, she was holding his hands and helping him go through the motions.

"Hey, why don't we have a weekend off." Zoe suggested, "I'll go back to work, you two get some coffee and take them to the park or something, then maybe Katie can come over for dinner and a sleepover? I know they're two, but they are already being exposed to so many stereotypes in that wretched classroom that we don't want them suddenly thinking about male and female relationships."

"I'd like that." Sherry grinned, "With the new baby, it's hard to catch a break."

"New baby?"

"My friend's sister passed recently. She was a single mother, and my friend is by far too busy to be a full-time care provider, so I'm the legal guardian. Branwen is a good baby, but she is a lot of work. And Katie, sweet girl that she is, is a terrible helper."

"As all babies are." Zoe kissed Eli, then waved to the kids, "I should head back to the station. Text me where we're meeting for dinner."

"Love you, Zoe."

"Love you too."

Zoe drove to the station and Matthew was at his desk as per usual, the one right in front of hers. The desks were pressed together, that way they could have personal space and could still speak face to face. Like a table at a restaurant.

"Hey Matt." She sat at her desk, "How was lunch break?"

"It was fine. How was the parent-teacher meeting."

"I learned the teacher is a bitch, and I might be putting my kids in a new class. But my husband is out having fun with the mother of the one nice kid."

"Wow, you showed up at the perfect moment." Chief Vick came over, "I have a case for you. Since you're…younger, I had a feeling this might be easier for you."

"Sure. What is it?"

"There was a murder at the High School late yesterday evening. One of the staff members, Ms. Mendeleiev. So, I want you two to investigate."

"Hm…" Zoe grinned, looking at the file, "I have two people on the inside who can help."

"Who?"

"Ariana Caelum and Adrien Agreste."

OoOoO

"Are you sure about this?" Joselyn asked. They had decided to leave Blight for this, leaving a note that Gizmo had an idea to get Iku out, but it was potentially dangerous, so they'd be back be dinner.

Gizmo was sitting crisscrossed, with her hair acting as a moving chair. They were on the Barbie-based world, because it was the mutual agreement of all that nobody cared if something went terribly wrong on that world. There were still a couple craters from when Jared had been training as Fireclaw for the first time.

"Of course I am!" She grinned, cleaning her crooked glasses, "So if we go off movies and stuff like that, it stands to reason you need to look at your reflection."

Joselyn looked at the crystal blue mirror they had found in the Diamond Castle, fused into the wall, which mirrored her own reflection. Her hair was messy and matted, because she hadn't brushed it in days, and she also hadn't washed her face in a while, so the dust from using her motorcycle daily was building up. But honestly, she didn't care. Too long had others wanted her to be a perfect little lady—and even if it was more passive on the Quantic World, it wasn't any less true—so now she didn't care. She might quickly shower when she got home, but there wasn't any of that shit that most girls used.

She sucked in a breath, looking into the mirror.

"Iku…I know you're here. Come on out, I want to talk. If we're going to be sharing a body, I think I have the right to know the other." The mirror rippled and Joselyn almost screamed at the person on the other side of the mirror.

It was her, though much cleaner, with a form-fitting black dress and bottomless black eyes. Then it changed and she saw herself in her other form, with the corpse-like appearance, dirty white dress and the cat mask held in the girl's small hands.

"You called?" Iku asked, looking rather intrigued, "How long have you known I live within you?"

"I…think I've known it wasn't just me…since I was very young. Got confirmed two weeks ago. But only last night did I realize it was _you_ specifically." Iku smirked,

"Clever, aren't you." She shrugged, "Why did you really call me? It obviously wasn't to chat."

"I saw the night Vita locked you away. And I want to know what made you… the way you are…" She wanted to saw evil, a murderer, a demon, but she just couldn't say it for reasons unknown.

Iku crossed her arms, taking to mirroring Joselyn,

"Some people are born good and always fight off the bad. Some people are born bad and become good through great effort. Others are born in light and fall to darkness. And others are born in darkness and cannot see the light. Try as you might to believe otherwise, everyone fits into one of those categories. Which one are you? Are you good or bad? Light or dark? An angel or a demon?"

Joselyn frowned as those questions sunk in. What was she? She shook herself, trying to push those questions down.

"I know what I am." Iku replied, "When I came of age, I realized the life ahead of me was one of anger, pain and hatred. Of darkness. Did I want that? Yes. I did. I was trained to be the perfect killer. Battle axes, daggers, swords, maces, bows and arrows. Put a weapon in my hand and chances are I would use it to bludgeon you to death." Joselyn smiled a little at how the weapon thing sounded like Zoe and Jared. She she turned serious again,

"What about your brother? Didn't you care about him?" Iku shrugged,

"He and I never…saw eye to eye. Sometimes that forms Yin and Yang, like Plagg and Tikki, or the Worldbender and the Warlock. But more often than not, it causes pain and devastation. Vita knows what I am, and up until that night, he tried to change me to what he wanted me to be. Yes, my methods of retaliating are questionable, but my 'good' brother isn't much better than me. I am not responsible for Famine, Overpopulation-induced deaths, Droughts. I control murder, not death like that." Gizmo was taking notes in fascination, while Joselyn was captured by the words of the girl in the mirror,

"If he's bad, why don't you try fixing the world instead of killing it?"

And it was in this moment that Iku grew excited,

"Sweet child, you cannot be fully angelic unless you possess the ability to be truly evil; goodness is a choice. It is feeling the power of darkness and walking the other way no matter how painful. It is looking in the mirror with open eyes and learning how to change until you love who you are. Goodness is an exercise in free will; this life will reveal all within you, yet choose wisely the pieces with which you build yourself. All roads back into the light are pain tenfold, your soul a magnifying glass for your guilt. Take heart, be brave, acknowledge and own your capacity for evil—for it is only by the darkness that the brilliance of pure light can shine as a beacon for others. My destiny is to lead, not from my own demand, but because I shall be the brightest star in a black night."

"So what does that mean?" Iku smirked, placing the cat mask over her face and pressing a finger to the painted on mouth,

"My secret." And then Joselyn was staring at herself again.

_Which one are you?_

"Jos?" Gizmo came over, "Are you okay?"

_Are you good or bad?_

"I'm fine." Joselyn said quietly.

_Light or dark?_

"You sure? I can call Jared if you need someone to talk to."

_An angel or a demon?_

Joselyn put on the best fake smile she could, "That got the research. And that's good. I'm just hungry. You?"

Gizmo calmed, grinning, "Starving!"

"Okay then," Joselyn took her friend's hand, "Let's go home."

She couldn't tell anyone just how much that encounter had shaken her. How she started smiling at the memory of her 'nightmare'. How she smirked when Vita cried.

She needed answers to those questions. But how?

She didn't notice Iku was still in the mirror, watching the two go, grinning maliciously, before disappearing as Joselyn left the castle.

**A/N: More backstory on Iku, though it has not been disclosed how she got out of the tree yet. And Eli and Zoe dealing with a shitty teacher.**

**Ms. Turner is, I shit you not, based off a preschool teacher one of the schools I went to (one of the reasons I prefer being homeschooled) who treated the blind kid like shit and practically encouraged bullying the kid. If she reads this story (I doubt it) she knows who she is, and my message is "Fuck you"**

**Anyway, remember to review, and vote on what happens next chapter. Sorry I didn't add Jared into this one, but this felt more like Joselyn and Gizmo instead. But I do genuinely take votes into account, though I sometimes adapt as needed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Olukokoro Ẹlẹgbẹ **

"Ari, did you do it?" Zoe crossed her arms. Matthew smacked her arm because you don't just bluntly ask if someone killed their coworker, but Zoe knew Ariana—the same bitch who had stabbed Adrien with a deadly arrow when she could have asked him to take off his glove—so she knew the Fae woman wouldn't hide it, punishment be damned. If Ariana did it, she would downright admit it.

"Nope." Ariana shrugged nonchalantly. Matthew smirked smugly at his partner, but froze when the Health teacher continued, "Wish it was though. First thing I thought when I heard she was dead was: Damn! I should have thought of that!"

"Why is that?" Matthew asked, taking notes.

"Nobody liked Ms. Mendeleiev. Hell, the other teachers actively avoid her as well. It's like that one person in a friend group who just randomly joined but nobody likes, so you talk shit about them behind their back." Ariana shrugged, "She was actively rude to us when we offered to help. The classes are still pretty far behind after the akumas, and she'd taken to just dumping a week's worth of lessons on them in one day and give them all the homework, which puts us behind because they're dead on their feet from an all-nighter. We can't give homework because we don't want to make things worse."

"Anyone in particular who would have something against her?" Ariana crossed her legs in her chair, deep in thought. It was about three minutes before she responded—and Zoe noticed she also reapplied her human-glamor,

"From where I stand, the whole of Paris is a suspect." Ariana coughed a little, then took a sip of water.

"Great. That narrows it down to 2.141 million." Matthew muttered sarcastically. Ariana smirked,

"I said from where I stand. Ask Adrien, he has the classroom next to her and is in the same department. He would have a better idea than me."

"Thank you. Come on Sommers."

"By Zo, is brunch still on?" Zoe shrugged,

"We'll see if Dad's back." Matthew dragged her away grumpily. Zoe swatted him away and barged into her brother's classroom,

"Hey Adrien!" Adrien jumped and fell out of his chair.

"Oh, hey Zo. What brings you? Is it about Ms. Mendeleiev?" He held his hand out to Matthew, "I'm Adrien."

"Head Detective Singer." Matthew replied, "Yes, we came to ask questions."

"Sure." Adrien poured some coffee and grabbed some croissants from the mini fridge under his desk, "Fire away."

Matthew seemed a little confused, and Zoe just smiled, "Who would have motive to kill Ms. Mendeleiev?"

"Paris." Adrien shuddered, "Jesus Christ, and that's just people who deal with her an hour maybe every day. I have to deal with her all day every day. She lectures me if I don't send a kid who breathes wrong to the principal! I didn't mind her when I was a student, but it's hell as a teacher."

"Did everyone just hate this woman?!" Matthew huffed, groaning when Adrien and Zoe nodded.

"I had her too." Zoe said, "But Adrien, is there anyone in particular who would have had the motive, means, and opportunity?"

"Oh, you need that?" Adrien gave her a list, "These are the regulars to detention. Sent by her for really obscure shit. Since she's not here, I was put in charge of it—even though I have _much_ better things to do once school is over." He cleaned his glasses, mumbling curse words under his breath.

"Okay—holy shit! This is half the school!" Zoe's eyes widened. Adrien nodded,

"Yeah. Apparently age just made her nastier. Or maybe she hates that you, Mari, Eli and I all graduated early. Even though you and Eli had been graduated for years."

"This is getting off topic." Matthew glared, "Mr. Agreste—"

"Mr. Agreste is my father. Call me Adrien."

"…Adrien." It was clear to Zoe that her partner's patience was thinning, "Who would have had the means to do so?"

"How did she die? We teachers gossip and have shipping wars, but that was never brought up." Zoe couldn't help the mental images at the idea of the teachers having shipping wars created.

"Stabbed in the heart with a curved knife." Zoe replied, "The knife wasn't found, but it seemed to be like that." Adrien pursed his lips,

"Can I see some autopsy photos?" Zoe nodded and handed him the photos. Adrien pales,

"That's not a knife. That's from a scythe, and a big one at that. Also, I cannot unsee this and wish I could. Might need to drink bleach."

"A scythe?" Matthew looked as well, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. In fact, I've seen a scythe mark like that before." He gestured to the blackened skin around the stab. It could be mistaken for an infection, but a Fae could see it for what it was, "It's like an Olukokoro Ẹlẹgbẹ."

"A what? Is that a gang name?" Matthew asked. Adrien frowned,

"No… normally I wouldn't suggest this, but we do live in a world of superheroes, fairies and shit. An Olukokoro Ẹlẹgbẹ is an assassin in the supernatural world—no, not the show. These beings are like reapers, but they take orders from the Five Guardians of the Afterlife. They work kind of like hellhounds."

"No." Matthew tore at his hair, "We aren't going to deal with this supernatural bullshit."

"Sorry about him." Zoe gestured to Matthew, "What else do you know?"

"Well," Adrien started pacing, "An Olukokoro Ẹlẹgbẹ doesn't know how to laser in on their target, so they go after all people in the general area with traits matching the target. They usually start by causing severe illness, and then pick off all the ones affected one by one. Male or female, doesn't matter. But if they find out someone isn't the intended target, but knows the whereabouts of their target, they kill them."

"So dear old teach was just in the crossfire?" Zoe got up, "Singer, I think that might be the only lead we have. Figure out who the target is, and see where things go from there."

"It might also be that she knew someone who knew." Adrien added. Matthew clenched his fists.

"Fine. I'll go interrogate those kids in the detention, because they are the ones who found the body. You two can go look at your Hocus Pocus." He stormed off, and Zoe turned,

"So… wanna go be my Gus for today?"

"Fuck yeah."

They didn't get far though, because almost as soon as they left Adrien's classroom, a student ran over,

"Detective! It's Ms. Caelum!" She seemed frantic, Zoe gripped the girl's hands,

"Woah, woah, calm down. What is your name, and tell me what happened."

"I-I'm Cassie…" the girl said, "I went to go ask Ms. Caelum for help on a section of the homework, when I saw this…thing! above her. I screamed and it just disappeared, but it stabbed Ms. Caelum and she's bleeding and I don't know what to do!"

Zoe and Adrien both ran to Ariana and saw their friend unconscious.

The wound wasn't fatal, but it looked like it hurt like hell. It was a nasty cut on her stomach. There was a letter next to her.

I will find him

\- Lady of the Lake

"Huh?" Adrien looked at the letter as Zoe barked for Cassie to call an ambulance.

OoOoO

"The note was scanned." Chief Vick informed the two detectives later, "No fingerprints were found, but security cameras revealed that Cassie was right. Just…in and out. Looks like Mr. Agreste was right."

"Now," Woody the Coroner said, gesturing to the body they were standing in front of in the morgue, "I hadn't considered a scythe as the weapon before, and was sticking to small weapons more likely in a school. But Adrien's hunch about dealing with an Olukokoro Ẹlẹgbẹ was spot on. Because all the victims with this kind of injury have had two things in common, and apparently Ariana Caelum had both as well."

"What were the traits?" Matthew asked. Woody looked at some files,

"All of them had early pneumonia, and were Fae."

"Like Tinker Bell?" Zoe turned to Matthew,

"No. Fae are basically humans only more enhanced. Ariana is Fae. But wait, why wouldn't it go after Adrien then, and are you saying the grouchiest teacher ever was also Fae!?"

"Correct." Woody replied, "Actually, about a third of the Parisian population is Fae. But what makes Adrien Agreste different is that he is a Made Fae, hence the mark on his hand and forearm. It seems to want pure Fae."

Zoe nodded to herself, "Sick…Fae…" Her eyes widened, "How did I not see it before!? PLAGG!"

OoOoO

Tikki went to check on her brother, finding him drinking a soup and reading quietly in his room. It was abnormal to see him so quiet, and that was how she knew something was wrong. She had tried to push the thought down, but there was no denying the truth. She got the call from Zoe that Plagg was in danger, so she went to go check on him.

"Plagg…" She said sheepishly, "You know what's going on. I got the call that Ariana got attacked." Plagg turned,

"What?" But she could tell he knew what she was talking about.

"Olukokoro Ẹlẹgbẹ." Tikki sat down, "You've been sick for a week now, and I think that maybe…"

"She's been looking for me since about two weeks after I came back." Plagg admitted, "I didn't want to worry anyone." Tikki paled,

"Plagg?! You've been sick for a year and haven't told anyone!" Plagg nodded,

"Please don't tell Adrien. My powers have been protecting me, because I know I have to hide, but…it won't for long." It was in this moment that Plagg dropped his glamor, revealing how sick he truly looked.

He was pale, overly so, with dark bags under his eyes, and his clothes were hanging loosely off him. He coughed, and it sounded sounded loose and wet, like thick phlegmy mucus was sliding up and down his throat with each violent expulsion of air.

"Plagg…" He coughed ferociously, falling onto the floor, "Plagg!" He was bleeding from the nose and a small trickle from his mouth. It was like his body gave up the second he dropped his glamor. Though she supposed that made sense, because strong glamors could trick the body of even the Fae who cast it.

Tikki bent down by his side, and she could tell every breath was a struggle; his phlegm filled lungs were desperate for oxygen, but his body would not cooperate. A string of harsh coughs shook his fragile form, leaving him weaker than Tikki had thought possible—and she had seen when he died at the hands of the Ashwood arrow. The breaths he took were entirely too fast and shallow to be normal.

Plagg's skin went ashen and fell slack. Then he lay there still as a corpse, barely breathing at all.

The fever was burning him up, body and spirit. He lay there so still as his skin radiated the heat from her blood. His usual soft golden-brown skin glowed in the worst way and his limbs fell limply when Tikki raised them.

"Plagg!" She didn't know what to do! She wasn't used to this kind of thing, and she couldn't take it if she watched her brother die again.

She then felt like an idiot and called an ambulance to pick him up.

OoOoO

Adrien finally reach the door to Plagg's hospital room, brown and dull like all the others, but he could already see people inside.

"Well, here we are," the nurse smiled kindly and opened the door wider. Doctors and nurses surrounded Plagg's hospital bed, attaching IV's, heart monitors and oxygen tanks to him.

An old TV set hung from the ceiling. A window giving him a view of the world below was just beneath the screen. In the corner was two chairs, frayed with wear and tear. It was a typical hospital room, sparse and functional. Adrien sat himself next to Plagg and stared dejectedly up at the ceiling, holding his friend's hand.

"How is he?" He looked up at Dr. Winston with pleading eyes. This could not be happening.

"Well…if he wasn't Fae, I would wonder how he's alive. He has Bacteremia. Bacteria entered the bloodstream from his lungs and spread the pneumonia infection to other organs, causing organ failure. We hooked him up to the ventilator, but…he isn't doing well."

"Anything else I should know?"

"Lung abscess." The doctor said reluctantly, "An abscess occurs if pus forms in a cavity in the lung. An abscess is usually treated with antibiotics. Sometimes, surgery or drainage with a long needle or tube placed into the abscess is needed to remove the pus."

"Let me guess, the latter options is needed."

"More than that." Dr. Winston replied, sitting down, "Because he hid the illness for so long…the organ failure is really severe. He'll require multiple transplants, and even then it's touch and go." Adrien started crying.

"N-No… and there's still the Olukokoro Ẹlẹgbẹ we have to deal with."

Now, Dr. Winston was a lot of things, but _this_ was not one of the things Adrien would have expected. So he did not expect the doctor—who Adrien realized was only 31 according to the dropped driver's license, poor man—to pull a giant hula hoop out of the closet, slip on an iron ring, and have two… water guns?

"Salt-filled hula hoops, holy water guns, and iron rings to punch ghosts in the face." Adrien gaped,

"You just have this lying around?!"

"I'm a doctor in the fucking Quantic Universe. You need to be prepared for this shit. And after all the pain and suffering and stress this fucking family has put me through, I AM NOT LOSING ANOTHER PATIENT TO MAGICAL BULLSHIT!"

"Wow. Thanks Doc—wait…what even is your first name?"

"Mary."

"Mary?" Adrien frowned, "Did your parents hate you?" Dr. Winston shrugged,

"My father's name was Mary, and his father before him was named Mary, and his father before him was named Greg."

"So your Great-Grandfather hates you."

"Yeah. And I spend all my spendable money preparing for the apocalypse, so I don't exactly have the funds to change it."

"I think this is getting off topic." Tikki said, coming into the room, "Zoe and Mr. Singer are filing reports at the station, and will be over shortly as Police Protection." She sat down, "Anything?"

"A lot of things. Really, really shitty things." Dr. Winston replied, "But once we get this ghost assassin out of the way, I can do the procedure. We have a spare kidney and a lung. Not much, but it will help him for now."

"Thanks." Adrien muttered sadly, "But for now, we need to handle this ghost." And almost immediately, the wind picked up in the room—and it wasn't from Adrien's wind powers.

It started with a slight shimmer, as if the air in front of them was being warped and twisted. Slowly it came into focus like an object looked at through a telescope, but the phantom was close, very close. At first it's whisper was like the soft susurration of the wind in the trees, then as the ghost became more clear, more sharply focused, the whisper became an eerie rasping voice, moaning, groaning. Now they could see the form of a man with a silvery ragged line across his neck and gaunt soulless eyes.

Adrien glared, taking a step in front of Plagg. Yes, his friend was surrounded by a large salt-filled hula hoop, but he couldn't be sure that would work against this thing.

The Olukokoro Ẹlẹgbẹ paid him no heed, walking towards Plagg.

"My mistress has been looking for you," it said in a raspy voice to the sleeping Fae, "You hid from me so long I had to broaden my search. But no more." Tikki tackled the spirit,

"You're not taking him! Not again!" Dr. Winston took the chance and slammed a hula hoop down, creating a force field around their enemy.

"Damn, Doc." Adrien clapped the doctor on the shoulder, "That was badass." Dr. Winston bowed playfully—which was a sign the world was about to end, because they had never seen him any form of confident before.

"You really think this will hold me long?" The creature asked, "I was given orders, and I will fill them."

"Let me guess," Detective Singer came storming in with a gun, "the story is that Plagg escaped Avalon."

"Well that isn't true." Zoe snapped in turn, lifting up Plagg's forearm to reveal a swirly symbol, the Druid symbol. The symbol of a deal, "We brought him back with a wish. So he is supposed to be there." The creature gaped,

"Well look at that. So I legally by the laws of death cannot take him." It shrugged, "I'll be on my way if you allow it." Adrien frowned, before lifting the salt hula hoop and putting it around Plagg again.

"However, I shouldn't return empty handed." Adrien then shrieked as the creature shoved him into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

…

"Adrien!" Zoe threw her hand out, sending a ball of dark fire at the phantom, destroying it.

Dr. Winston ran over to Adrien, checking his pulse, "He's okay. Just a minor concussion. I'll put him on the couch."

"Sommers…" Zoe froze and turned to see Matthew gaping at her, "What the hell are you?!" She frowned,

"I'd sit down. Hope you like _long_ stories."

"I don't."

"Too bad."

OoOoO

Adrien woke up with a terrible headache. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was—

Plagg!

He shot upright, wincing at the light, and noticed he was on the couch in the hospital room, the one just under the window. Detective Singer was rocking back and forth in the corner, and Plagg was still asleep on the bed.

Zoe was doing her nails.

"Oh good, you're up." She said dryly without looking at him, "I'd run, because Marinette's water broke an hour ago after a seven hour early labor." Adrien whirled around and saw it was nightfall. Wait… Marinette was in labor! HOLY SHIT, HE WAS MISSING THE BIRTH OF HIS CHILDREN!

He sprinted to the delivery room and Marinette holding all three babies. She looked up, very happy.

"Adrien! You're up! How's your head?"

"Better now, M'Lady." He sat down on the bed with her, and started crying, "Are these our…" Marinette nodded.

They were all Fae, and surprisingly small babies. One was blonde, one had blue hair like Marinette, and the last one had jet black hair. None of them had opened their eyes yet.

"It seems one of our boys decided to be a girl instead." She gestured to the little one with jet-black hair, "So we still need to name her."

Tom and Sabine plowed into the room, followed by Gabriel and Emilie—all of which weren't allowed in until the birth was over.

Then the four grandparents started arguing over who could hold the babies, until the black haired girl shrieked and a table disintegrated.

There was silence as the girl opened her eyes, revealing brilliant green ones that almost glowed.

"Well…I think she's the one who inherited Plagg's powers." Adrien said after a second, picking her up, "But it doesn't matter, she's still perfect to me!"

"Okay." Tom sat in a chair, "So we established Emma for the blonde one, and Hugo for the boy. What about the other girl?"

Both parents smirked to each other.

It didn't take long to name their babies. Emma Juniper Agreste, Hugo William Agreste, and Catra Amara Agreste.

Plagg looked at the three babies once they were brought to his hospital room—since he wasn't contagious, it was just killing his insides,

"Well kids, welcome to hell."

**A/N: Okay! That chapter is out of the way, Plagg isn't gonna be dying soon but is sick, Matthew knows the truth, the triplets were born, and the next chapter has Joselyn and Jared, our favorite duo. Ariana is alive, just to clarify, but she is quite bitter.**

**And that thing about teachers having shipping wars is a real thing. At my old school I volunteered to clean the staff lounge in exchange for grapefruit and I found a detailed blueprint of seating charts for ships. When I asked one of my teachers about it, apparently they make fanart and fanfiction too. I am not even kidding, that was my favorite of the schools I've gone to.**

**And remember to review and vote, because it took forever because only one review! Cheeto needs to eat!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The temple**

"Okay…so what's the plan today?" Gizmo skipped in happily, MurderBot not far behind her and still wearing the cooking apron. It turned out that robot could cook faster and better than everyone in the bunker combined—though Jared could barely make scrambled eggs, so that bar wasn't very high—so he, became the robot seemed masculine and as such earned the male pronoun, was the designated cook.

Since joining them, Gizmo looked much healthier. She was still underweight, but not as much so. Her hair was clean, and she had cute pink glasses that fit her perfectly. She still wore the same attire but in the occasional different color.

It had been five months since, unbeknownst to them, the triplets were born. Things were going pretty well. They had tried out that death song and…well…that Barbie world was now a barren wasteland because everything had died. They had also tested her other powers.

Another update was Joselyn now had a bracelet that had a small mirror on it so she could speak to Iku. The Enchantress wasn't very helpful, but she wasn't unhelpful.

Or so everyone else thought.

When they were alone, Iku would ask Joselyn if she knew what she was yet. The answer was always the same, "Not yet." and Iku seemed pleased by the answer.

Then there were the blackouts, where one moment she'd be in the kitchen, then the next she'd be in the shower hours later with no memory of anything in between.

The killings were new as well. Families, innocents, towns…completely slaughtered. It was a bloodbath.

And Joselyn had had that thought, that only those suffering from blackouts…and Steve Urkel could have:

"Did I do that?"

She figured no, she wouldn't have done that. But she wasn't sure.

Back in the present, they were pondering what to do today.

Jared shrugged, "Jos, you've been working hard. I think you deserve a break."

"A break?" Joselyn frowned, "What about Iku?"

"Iku's locked tight in here," he tapped Joselyn's chest, "and she hasn't hurt anyone. What could go wrong? Just the four of us, assuming Gizmo wants to come, just riding around for a bit and maybe getting some food."

"Can't." Camille said, "Gina and I are gonna be taking Gizmo to get her ankle looked at." They had all noticed how Gizmo had a small limp, but nobody thought much of it as she didn't pay it any heed. Camille kissed Jared's cheek, "How about just you and Joselyn. You two haven't had quality time in a while." Joselyn grinned from ear to ear,

"Can we really?" Jared nodded,

"To the motorcycles and the food!"

OoOoO

"Kels, you're exhausted." Emilie begged, "You need to rest."

The Guardian Temple was deserted. A thin bluish light was radiating through the pillared hallway, which made an eerie contrast with the white halo shining from the brass sculpture on the central altar.

This was not a world of fantasy, everything the team of four could see around them was real, substantial and yet impenetrable. The atmosphere was dense and heavy, and Kelly continued to move through the sacred ruins, feeling frustrated by not having deciphered the holiness of the place.

They had been in Tibet for over a year, and while Amelia and Harrison let themselves spend time as a vacation, Emilie followed her newlywed husband through the temple. With each day that passed, she was losing hope of bringing Eden back, but Kelly refused, searching for answers in every piece of writing.

Amelia walked over to him because maybe his best friend could convince him where his wife couldn't.

"Kels...it's been over a year. I think... I don't think we'll be able to bring her back." Kelly whirled around in a rage. Looking at him, they could tell how desperate he was. His hair was unkempt, and he hadn't shaved in a while. His clothes were wrinkled, and his eyes had a look to them that he was despairing and incautious.

"So what?" He snapped, "Are you saying I should give up on her?! Go home if you want to, all of you! But I won't accept it until she's home!"

"Kelly..." Harrison sighed, "We've been trying to ask you for a year. But what is this really about? Yes, you care about Eden, but there is something else this time; otherwise, you wouldn't be as desperate as you are now."

"You want to know the truth?" Kelly clenched his fists as he tore down another pile of rubble with his bare hands, "The truth is that this is my fault and I need to make it right!"

"How would Eden going into the Blind Eternities be your fault?" Emilie asked, "Did you tell her to do it?"

"No. But I didn't stop her either." He sighed, "I promised I wouldn't leave them again, and I left my daughter to die." Everyone gasped as they realized that this was all from guilt. They all knew he was a rather accepting person unless an injustice was caused by him. The pieces clicked into place, and Emilie ran up and hugged him,

"Oh Kelly, it wasn't your fault." She assured, "You were in stasis. You would have died without that, and Eden was already gone by the time you woke up."

"It was my choice to burn myself out that badly." He said quietly, "If I hadn't done that, I could have stopped her—saved her."

"But what you did turned the tides in the war." Harrison replied, "Eden was a smart girl, there is no way she didn't know what that would do to her. But she did it anyway. I don't want Eden to be gone any more than you or Zoe does, but...even Zoe has let herself move on. It wasn't your fault. If you had just told us this was how you were feeling, we would have told you this sooner."

They thought that would calm him down. And it did.

"Thanks, guys..." He smiled, "Can we just work until tonight... then we..." he let a tear fall, "We can go home."

"Okay." Emilie kissed him, "Let's go then."

They walked around for a bit until Harrison tripped.

"Ow!"

"Harry?!" The other three ran over and saw Harrison clutching his ankle. Kelly bent down and saw the joint was crooked and starting to swell.

"Shit." Amelia cursed, "What the hell did you trip on?!" Harrison shrugged, and Kelly dug into his bag, pulling out a roll of bandage wrap.

"Stay still, okay?" Harrison nodded, biting down on his jacket as Kelly wrapped his ankle.

"Thanks, Kels..." He moved to get up when they heard a tiny giggle. They turned and saw a little bat no bigger than Jaay. Jaay had decided to come with them since Eli had powers of his own, and he wanted to see the Tibetan temple for himself.

So far, the bird-kwami had been unusually quiet, but once the little bat appeared, he emerged and flew up,

"Batty?" Everyone immediately thought of the bat from _Ferngully_.

Batty giggled, "Good to see ya, Jaay." She shifted into her Fae form, and so did Jaay.

Jaay was tall and lean with starlit-white hair. His eyes were a greenish-blue. He wore a simple grey shirt and black jeans.

Batty was tall, thin and willowy, more priestess than Fae. She had dark brown hair, and eyes like rich chocolate. She wore traditional deep blue robes and a band of barbed iron stars around her brow.

"Wow." Amelia looked at Batty in fascination, "What are you doing here?"

"Every since Marjii, Regina, was defeated, I was put in charge of protecting the remnants of the temple. I decided to leave you guys be until I heard your purpose here. Sorry about your ankle, Harrison, but I had to get your attention."

"You could have just spoken to us." Emilie snapped. Batty shrugged,

"I tried, but you guys were too preoccupied to notice. But if you're trying to revive someone who was killed in the Blind Eternities, I think I can help you. Come along."

She led them through the temple, with Amelia supporting her husband. The walk wasn't long, but apparently, there were secret passages down below.

Everyone gaped at the sight of a black garnet in one of the rooms. The thing was massive, and it lit up the entire room in a reddish glow.

While the others weren't affected by it, only taking pictures, Kelly found the thing was calling to him.

"Come to me." It beckoned, again and again to the point the mage felt he would become deranged if he didn't obey.

"Kels...you okay?" Emilie asked as Kelly walked up to it, "Kelly, get away from that!"

He stroked the stone with his fingertips, and it just felt right, as though this stone was designed for him or something. He didn't realize his eyes were glowing identical to the stone, and he also didn't notice his wife and friends trying to pull him away to no avail.

But then the stone began glowing brighter, making Kelly glow as well. He screamed, falling to his knees, one hand still on the stone while the other clutched his head that felt like someone had taken a hammer to it.

"Kelly! Speak to me!" Emilie grabbed Kelly's shoulders and tried to force him away from the stone, while Amelia and Harrison went for the hand. It wasn't his robotic hand, rather the hand that bore the marks from where Pikko died. It was almost like his hand was fused to the glowing rock because they couldn't get it off no matter how hard they tried.

"Kels!" Harrison begged, "Snap out of it! Wake up!"

Kelly's eyes flew open, but they were no longer the blue they had all known. The color they were witnessing now was indescribable. Thousands if not millions of colors filled his irises, some had never been seen by the others.

For some reason, Jaay and Batty were totally calm regarding this.

Then there was an explosion, and Kelly fell limp, free from the black garnet, which was now an ordinary lump of cobblestone.

"Kelly!" Harrison crawled over as Kelly opened his eyes, once again familiar sapphire blue.

"My head... what just happened?"

"We don't know." Amelia admitted, "But you need to rest-what the?!" Kelly's hands lit up the same dark red as the garnet had been before, and a scroll came into existence.

"Huh?" Amelia took the scroll, "Holy shit! Kels!" Kelly sat up with Emilie's help,

"What is it?"

"It's a resurrection spell." She replied, "Stone alter, some paint, small animal sacrifice, and we can get Eden back!" Kelly beamed, before laughing in relief,

"Thank the gods!" He stood up and hugged Batty, "Thank you! Thank you!" Batty's smile was very strained,

"No problem." Kelly helped Harrison and they all got out of the temple.

Jaay lingered behind for a moment, and Batty stared at him in horror,

"He just absorbed the most powerful magical artifact in this universe!" She turned to the useless lump of stone, "And he survived?!"

"Yeah...Kelly absorbed Pikko's powers and is now the strongest Mind Mage in the multiverse."

"No, Jaay, you don't understand!" Batty looked desperate "His powers are going to grow, extremely. Look after him, because he's already immortal, but this power could kill him if he's not careful. And control is key." Jaay groaned,

"Don't worry Bat, not my first rodeo with him. But I should probably catch up before they leave me behind." He shifted into his animal form and flew after them.

OoOoO

"Come on Kitty!" Roxas giggled, walking slowly to help Catra crawl and catch up with him. She still had a really hard time controlling her Destruction, so Plagg and Roxas were in charge. Since Plagg had had the powers before and Roxas could sense when she was about to use them and could phase at will.

Plagg had gotten the new lung and kidney, but he was still really sick since all of his other organs were fucked up as well. They were still trying to figure out if his brain was affected. Because one doesn't simply replace a brain. From time to time, he could come home and would be hooked up to the machines in his room, but there were other times he had trouble breathing. He needed that second replacement lung fast because the one that hadn't been replaced was gonna give out any day.

"Roxy!" Catra giggled, chasing after him while Plagg watched, warning the young boy if he was about to phase into a wall or something. She grinned, getting a little faster until she tagged his foot.

Plagg smiled at the two as a nurse came in.

She was beautiful, and not being much older than Plagg himself looked—about early twenties. She was tall and thin, with freckled skin as pale as the moon and braided golden hair; a deep, brassy color. Above her deep grey eyes, she wore a silver headband, which set her apart from the other nurses who wore similar work attire.

Talia was her name. Rain from heaven.

Now, she probably thought he was sicker than he actually was, due to the fact he couldn't speak around her. Why? He had no fucking idea. He tried asking Marinette about it once when she was picking up Catra, only to get a smirk out of the young witch. What did it mean?!

"Hey Plagg," she smiled, and Plagg's stomach did a couple summersaults. She smiled as Catra waved at her with a bright baby smile. Catra was always here, and Roxas came after school, so she knew them both really well.

Talia picked up Catra and Plagg subconsciously held his breath. But the little Fae girl didn't have trouble with her powers around the young nurse, so his fear wasn't quite understood.

"H-Hi Ta-Talia." he stammered after a second. Talia frowned and pulled out some equipment,

"Breathe out." He obeyed, and she didn't seem happy with the results.

"Your lung isn't doing too well." She said gently, and he shrugged,

"I-I have been here for almost six months. I doubt I'm fine-I mean! I don't mind it here, just, you know..."

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't have to be?" He nodded.

"I guess. I'm a little homesick, and I officially detest Jell-O. But it could be worse." Roxas got up onto the bed,

"Oh yeah! Uncle Adrien wanted me to tell you that he'll be coming to spend dinner with you tomorrow instead of tonight because apparently Pops and Ama are coming back!" Plagg sighed. As overprotective as Adrien could be, it was still nice to spend time with him.

Talia smiled at him, "Do you need company?" Plagg blanched,

"Yeah—I mean what—no! GAH! What!? i3oqibiqbfuhou3qe2jb!" Yes. Grammar.

"Okay?" Talia got up, "I'm going to go get the doctor..."

"Jiwrbufqgblquoghobda!" God. Fucking. Damnit!

"Uncle Plagg?" Roxas sat on the bed with Catra, "You okay?"

"Honestly kid," Plagg replied, "I have no idea."

OoOoO

"I had fun today, Jos," Jared said cheerfully, hopping off his bike. Joselyn did too, turning with a grin.

"Me too. I needed today."

"Oh, and I did more research." He continued, "While in one of the towns. When I went to pay for lunch, I learned that we might be able to extract Iku and stick her in a tree again if we got Zoe and Eli to help."

They climbed down into the bunker, and Jared frowned where he saw Joselyn just standing behind him.

"Kid? You okay?"

Then he was sent flying backward and crashed into one of the walls.

He got up after a second, rubbing his head, before seeing Joselyn glowing with dark energy. But not like Zoe's dark energy, this was something so much worse.

She looked up and Jared gasped when he realized this wasn't Joselyn at all. It was Iku. Her pure black eyes were proof of that, and how her attire changed to the dirty white dress.

She clenched her fist and Jared let out a choked scream and fell to his knees, clutching his chest as an intense pain shot through him.

"You..." Iku smirked, walking up to him menacingly,

"You just make it too easy." She mocked, her voice the mix of Joselyn's and that of a young woman, "I know you think you're winning against me, but you lost the moment you told Joselyn, or rather me, of your plans."

"I thought-"

"I was locked away?" She smirked, "Well, you couldn't have been more wrong. And those deaths around in the cities? Me. Not Joselyn, me. And now for you, there is no returning to the world above."

"What do you mean?" He could no longer support himself and fell on his side, "Can you not be cryptic?"

"I need you, Jared. Whether as a vessel or a catalyst, I care not." She clarified, "But you are useful to me. Or to be more precise, I will need what will be left of you." Jared felt his eyelids getting heavier. He didn't know why, but the pain in his chest was so extreme that he was getting tired, and no matter how hard he fought, Iku didn't seem even the slightest bit bothered.

"What's...gonna...happen...?"

Iku smirked, "Joselyn finds you as good as dead, and I plant the memory that what I'm about to do to you was at her own hand. Don't know how long it will take, but she will break, and I'll win."

"Joselyn..." Iku bent down and put two fingers tauntingly under his chin,

"Your soul will sleep forever in the folds of darkness, where only the blue moon, your death, can save you."

Jared snarled, "You won't...get away with this..."

"Oh, I already have." Iku let her menacing grin be the last thing Jared saw, "Sweet dreams, Jared."

Iku laughed wickedly as Jared's soul left his body, in which she banished it to a pocket universe where he would be in his own personal hell. That is a place of no return.

The more souls she had consumed through Joselyn, the stronger she became, and now she could control Joselyn's body for short amounts of time. And now she could plant the idea in Joselyn's head that she herself was the one to do this.

Looking at Jared, he looked to be merely sleeping, but she knew-and Joselyn would very soon know-that it was so much more than that. He wasn't going to wake up, ever.

And so, she walked to Joselyn's room and released her vessel.

…

Joselyn blinked awake, sighing when she realized she had blacked out again.

"I need a cat-scan." She mused, "Or...another one." Then she gasped.

Where was Jared? The had been walking down the stairs when she last remembered, and she wasn't in bed so she couldn't have passed out from exhaustion.

"Jared?" She walked out of her room and to the entrance, where her heart took a breath of relief when she saw Jared sleeping on the floor. Sure, him sleeping on the floor was weird, but he wasn't dead.

She smiled, bending down and frowning when she saw blood in his hair and felt something very wrong. And he wasn't snoring, and that in itself was worrisome.

She poked him. Jared slept like the dead, but occasionally he would stop snoring, so Joselyn would poke him until he started snoring. But no matter how much she poked and shook him, he didn't stir.

"Jared? This isn't funny. Wake up!" She activated her powers and felt that there was dark magic radiating off of him, and it didn't belong to him.

Checking his pulse, Joselyn frowned when she noticed it was weak, but still even.

She started sobbing at the idea she had—no. She couldn't have done that.

"Jared! Please!" His head was in her lap, and he didn't respond, even when she blared music magically in his head.

"HELP!" She screeched, her cry echoing through the bunker, "JARED NEEDS HELP!"

Kagami was the first one there, followed soon by Camille and Gina.

"Jared?!" Kagami looked him over before turning to Joselyn, "What happened?"

"I don't know! One minute I was talking to him, then I was in my room, then I found him like this. I can't wake him up!"

"Gina, Cam, get a stretcher!" Kagami ordered, but then Camille brought one into existence and helped the other girls to get him on the stretcher and rush off to someone who could help.

Joselyn followed them, her vision blurred with tears.

"Please be okay, Jared..."

_Are you Good or Bad? Light or Dark? An Angel or a Demon?_

As the implications of what happened to her older brother figure were planted in her head, Joselyn began fearing the answer.

**A/N: So…all of that happened. Kelly touched a fancy rock, new things appeared. And now I have little idea what to do for the next chapter, so vote and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter gets dark, you've been warned.**

**Chapter 6: Monster**

After an hour, Jared was situated on his bed, hooked up to all kinds of monitors. Kagami and Gizmo were performing scans to make sure it was even safe to try waking him up. Gina wasn't so patient, as she was currently holding a shield and a bucket of water.

"This doesn't make sense. Gizmo, is there something I'm not seeing?" Gizmo looked at the scans with Kagami,

"If by the missing thing you mean why we can't wake him up, I don't see it either." She looked up to Gina, Camille, and Joselyn, "It's as though he's just sleeping. Like, the kind of sleeping where we should be able to wake him up."

"So can I dump the water on him now?" Gina asked. Camille unhooked the machines and put a magic cover over everything so only Jared would be wet,

"Go ahead." Gina poured the icy water on him, and everyone deflated when he didn't even twitch.

"Maybe it's something magical like last time?" Camille suggested, "When I met Jared, one of the first things that happened was he was forced into an enchanted slumber. We were able to wake him up using a magic rock. Maybe it's something like that?"

"That makes sense." Joselyn agreed quietly, "When I found him, he was radiating dark magic like nothing I've seen before."

"So he's cursed." Gina grumbled, "Cam, do you have the magic rock?" Camille nodded, removing the necklace from around her neck,

"I've kept it with me ever since, just in case something like that happened again." Gina snatched it and slipped it around Jared's neck. The heart-shaped rock glowed for a second and everyone ran to the bed, hopeful. And Jared opened his eyes. But something was wrong. Very wrong.

For starters, the sea-green was replaced with a dull grey. And he didn't have pupils. Those two things together meant only one thing.

"This isn't an enchantment or an injury." Camille's hands flew over her mouth as Jared's eyes closed again, "He...He lost his soul. He can't wake up." Gina screamed, starting to sob,

"How did this happen?!"

Meanwhile, Joselyn had become extremely pale and was swaying dangerously, before falling to her knees and vomiting.

"Joselyn?!" Camille ran over, grabbing a bucket and holding the young girl's hair back.

_"You did this."_ A taunting voice said to Joselyn in her head, _"You're the reason he's as good as dead."_

She refused to believe she had attacked him and...had fed. She refused to accept that. But the evidence was there. A head injury... crumpled on the ground... that is what happened when she hadn't fed in a day and lost control. She hadn't been feeding as much as usual.

After about five minutes of her hurling out the contents of her stomach—mostly stomach acid and oh god that burned her throat—she calmed, and Camille cleaned her up.

"I-I think..." she swallowed back some bile that threatened to spill out, "I think I did this." Gina turned,

"What?" It sounded less shocked, and more like a challenge, "_You_ did _this_?!" She gestured to Jared's comatose form, "WHY?!"

"I don't know!" Joselyn teared up, "I've been blacking out a lot lately, and I blacked out right before I found him, so I don't know! I know that I would never do this to him in my right mind."

"Joselyn," Kagami assured, "I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation. Because if you were going to willingly attack him, you would have done it miles away from here and likely left him for dead. Besides, what's the motivation? It's clear you see him as a friend just like the rest of us. I'll check the security footage and see if I can find anything."

Camille nodded. Joselyn could tell she was devastated but was trying to stay strong in the presence of two children.

OoOoO

Jared meanwhile, was going through Hell.

When Eli had mentioned his soul had been banished to a Hell, and that entailed gather a hundred tiny bottles a day and then becoming invincible, Jared wasn't worried. He could handle that.

_This_ was a different story.

As it turned out, Jared's personal Hell was a repeating nightmare of himself as a villain and killing everyone he loves, trapped in his own body and unable to stop anything. It started with people he wasn't as close to like Kelly and especially Gabriel, followed by Adrien and Marinette, Eli, Zoe...then Kagami and Gina... and finally Camille and Joselyn.

It was unbearable to see the four people he cared about most die at his own hand. And Iku was horrible, ensuring it wasn't the same every time. There were different defenses, different reactions, different moments to utter heartbreak as he struck them down.

The worst part was as the days went by, Joselyn looked less and less sad while dying.

His only relief was right after that when a teenage Roxas Sommers would appear.

Jared's villain form was called Vortex, which was basically Stormy Weather if that bitch had been competent. His hair became pure white and he wore tattered black robes with a combat suit underneath. He has a weather-based skillset, including flight through wind manipulation, stormcalling, and ice magic. Common forms of killing included burning someone alive with lightning, freezing and shattering someone, impaling someone with ice spikes, electrocuting someone to stop their heart, dismembering someone with ice swords, and using the wind to throw objects around in a lethal manner. He can also form crude structures from ice, usually walls, and form anywhere from a light breeze, to a world-ending hurricane or winter storm, as well as lightning bolts for literal miles.

But the reason Roxas was the only survivor was because he was easily the strongest opponent with his phasing. As a teen, Roxas' blindness didn't seem to bother him all that much, and he was able to dodge or even phase through attacks. He also took more after his namesake than expected—other than the violet eyes—with the same build, windswept blonde hair and the long black hooded trench coat.

While everyone else had been a challenge for the monster that Jared's mind was trapped in, Roxas was downright impossible. His affinity was being intangible most of the time, but that wasn't his only power. He seemed to have also developed echolocation, which made his blindness completely irrelevant.

Phasing through every attack, Roxas snuck up behind him and stuck his hand in Vortex's chest, ripping out his heart.

"That's for my family." He sneered, and Vortex dropped dead.

But not Jared. Every time Roxas killed him—and it was never in the same way, and he assumed Iku did it like that so he couldn't emotionally prepare himself—the day repeated, forcing him to relive the unstoppable carnage for eternity.

And every time he died, if the day hadn't begun, he would see Joselyn. His Joselyn. From time to time, he would see his body and looked at it. Either he would look feverish, or would be sleeping like nothing was wrong. He wasn't sure what was worse.

After reading that entire book on Totem Armor, Jared learned a great many things such as how to use his power without killing himself. That had been a nice thing to learn. But now he knew that, without a major life force, his Totem Armor would begin burning through him. While his soul would stay here until the Blue Moon in a year, his body would perish in six months.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jared." Jared frowned, looking at Joselyn who was holding the hand on his body. What was she sorry for? She didn't do this, Iku did.

"Joselyn," he put a hand on hers, even though she couldn't feel it, "This was not your fault. When I get back, I'm gonna give Iku a piece of my mind, but this is not your fault. Remember that."

He didn't know if he would ever get back. He doubted it actually. But Joselyn was a necromancer, so maybe there was a small chance she would hear him. And in the words of Zoe, "we've pulled weirder shit" so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that he'd be freed. Eli had survived his Hell for a hundred days. Jared decided that he would too. If powering through meant he could get home to his loved ones, his family, he would do it.

But then the day repeated and he knew it would be easier said than done. He couldn't close his eyes either, he had to watch the people he cared about being slaughtered time and time again.

_Someone...please...wake me from this nightmare._

OoOoO

"Okay..." Kelly mused, "We have the coffin thing, we have a small animal, we have the spell, we have extra clothes just in case, and we have candles. Anything else?"

"Paint?" Zoe suggested, setting some down. She was more excited than she had been in a long time. They could bring Eden back! The twins hadn't even met their elder aunt, and that was unacceptable.

Setting everything up didn't take long since Hana had been able to get the supplies. In Kelly's hands was a rat. It was old and on the brink anyway, so killing it wasn't as evil as killing a baby rat.

"Ieldra used as, hlystan mîn nêodlaðu, hiere of hê morð must cûðe unrihtnes, hiere of hê cniht scieppan," Kelly called, using a silver dagger and killing the rat in one swift motion as its blood made the paint, which was designed in the symbol of resurrection, glow a dark red, "Beorma hire of hê, yfel biddan! Tôniman hêo forwards wægn!" His eyes began glowing like they had when he touched the black garnet, but while there was bright glowing, there was no resurrecting. Zoe joined in, and they repeated the spell multiple times until Kelly lost it and started sobbing on the ground.

"It was supposed to work." He punched the ground, "It was supposed to work!"

"Yeah..." They both turned and saw Eli reading the scroll, "This is a spell that guarantees a resurrection, no strings attached. It's real, very much so, but this means only one thing."

"What is that?" Zoe asked curiously, then Eli frowned,

"It means Eden is already alive."

OoOoO

Millard was reading in his study when he heard Eden scream. He ran to her and found the young woman was seizing.

"Aurora? Eden?!" Her eyes flew open, the same sea-green as they were supposed to be.

"Where am I?" She asked quietly, sitting up, "Who are you?" Millard furrowed his brow. Had that just happened?

"What is your name?"

"Eden Imelda Carpenter." She replied, shivering, "H-How did I get here? Am I dead?"

"No." He replied, "I found you drifting in the Blind Eternities on the brink," he lied, "So I've had you here. I guess you got your memory back because you've been without it for six months." Eden rubbed her head, then looked down at her stomach,

"AH! When did that happen?!" Millard pursed his lips.

In his quest to create a Worldbender to defeat Iku, he had met a nice girl named Lydia. Things went great until they discovered Lydia was barren. So Aurora had agreed to act as a surrogate. There wasn't a problem with that, and she was still in the slow process of her soul's recovery. But now that Aurora had been replaced with Eden, that was going to be a fun discussion.

And so he explained everything to her—and by everything, he did not mean that he was actually named Vita, was formerly the King of Heaven, or that Douglas was in his dungeon—and made sure to mention multiple times that the surrogate thing was her idea.

"So...if my memory is back, I'm going home," Eden replied, getting up. He took her hand,

"You can't! What about Iku?!" Eden glared,

"My kid, my problem. Peace out." She transformed into Tenshi and vanished.

"Damnit." He swore, "If she's not going to help, then it's time for plan B."

OoOoO

It had been three weeks since Jared lost his soul, and things were not going great.

Kagami had found the security footage, and everyone was horrified to learn that Iku wasn't really as locked away as they had thought.

Camille was either by Jared's side, or going through her Dad's old journal on the soul, and how the loss of it had affected Eli. From what she could tell, Jared's soul hadn't been shattered, so it was just one soul God knows where.

They had all mutually agreed not to tell anyone outside the bunker, because they didn't want to cause a panic at the news of the Enchantress being back, and they didn't want to risk Iku awakening and hurting anyone else. Also, Zoe would make too many jokes and Jared would end up in a Sleeping Beauty dress.

Joselyn, Kagami, and Gizmo were doing what they could to get Iku out of Joselyn. Unfortunately, without Zoe and Eli, it wasn't easy. But the main issue was that Kagami wanted to play it safe, while Joselyn did not, and Gizmo honestly didn't care.

Another thing was Gina. She had taken to either staying with Jared or locking herself in her room. No matter where she was, she was avoiding Joselyn and sobbing her eyes out.

Joselyn knocked on Gina's door quietly, still unsure if being here was a good idea.

Gina opened the door regardless, "What do you want?" She gestured to let her in, but it was clear it was only out of etiquette than anything else.

"I...I wanted to apologize." She said with a regretful grimace, "For what I did...to Jared." She fiddled with a strand of hair, "I-I'm trying to make it right. I acknowledge this was my fault, and I'm sorry."

They stood in silence for a moment, before Gina's neutral and sad expression became one of pure loathing,

"You really think a little apology is gonna make everything all hunky dory?" Joselyn looked up and frantically shook her head,

"N-No...I just wanted to put it out there. I already apologized to Kagami and Cam and needed to apologize to you. I also wanted to ask if you had any ideas about Iku..."

"Any ideas? ANY IDEAS!?" Gina stalked up to her, taking full advantage of their height difference, "YOU, A LITTLE GIRL, KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!" Joselyn backed up, realizing that the redhead had just snapped. This was a bad idea.

"He's not dead, there's still a chance!"

"What chance?" She turned away, "Have any of the other people you killed come back? And how dare you come and apologize as though I would just forgive you. You are nothing but a little monster." Joselyn froze,

"W-What..."

"Do I need to say it again?" Gina glared, "Monster. You are acting like we didn't lose our friend less than a month ago. I want Jared back more than anyone, and don't you dare try to give me hope when there is none to be found! You know what? I have an idea, maybe you need to use riskier experiments!" Joselyn was on the brink of crying,

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry I came! I'M SORRY I EXIST!" She ran off.

Gina frowned a little. She hadn't meant to hurt her that badly, but if she was good at one thing, it was holding grudges forever, so she wasn't going to apologize for it.

But she probably would if she knew Joselyn's thought process right now.

Joselyn sprinted to her room with tears in her eyes, locking her bedroom door behind her, and she sobbed.

It was more than crying, it was the kind of desolate sobbing that came from a person drained of all hope. She sank to her knees. Her gasping wails echoed around the room. She had always been so self-conscious when she cried, but now she just gave way to the enormity of her grief.

She sobbed into her hands and the tears dripped between her fingers, raining down onto the floor. She was noisy, her skin was blotched but there was nobody there to witness it, let alone come to comfort her. Camille was mourning the loss of her boyfriend, Kagami just ignored her for the most part, and Gina hated her guts, and Gizmo gave no fucks.

She cried until no more tears came, but still, the emptiness and sorrow remained.

"Don't cry, young one." Joselyn froze when she saw Iku in the mirror, "These are mere mortals, nothing like us. They could never understand."

"Shut up." Joselyn turned away from the mirror, but Iku didn't give up.

"Don't be like that. Jared is just a human, why should you care?"

"BECAUSE I AM NOT LIKE YOU!" She punched the glass of the mirror, splitting her knuckles as the glass dug into her skin. She let herself cry as she punched the mirror, her knuckles dripping with blood.

Then she took a second to look at her knuckles, then gasped when she saw the black blood mixed with red. She looked at the cracked mirror and saw Iku had the same marks she did.

"Did I just hurt you?" Iku looked away, but the look in those soulless black eyes told her she was onto something.

Just to test it, she took the dirk Jared had gifted her, before shaking her head. No. She wasn't going to dirty that gift with what she was about to try. Instead, she took her old scalpel and made a cut on her bicep, which leaked black blood alongside red. Iku's eyes widened as her white dress became stained with black.

Joselyn smirked, "You don't like that. Well, I'll show you."

"You can't hurt me without hurting yourself." Iku snapped, and Joselyn just punched the broken mirror again,

"You should have thought of that before hurting Jared. So tell me how to save him, or you will regret it." When Iku remained silent, Joselyn sighed, "Guess we have to do this the hard way."

She thought about it for a second, before Gina's words came back.

Monster.

Whether this was torture for Iku or herself for being unable to stop the Enchantress, she didn't know. But she wanted the world to know she had figured out what she was.

Are you Good or Bad? Light or Dark? An Angel or a Demon?

She knew the answer now. She wasn't good, she wasn't meant to be loved. She was a Monster, and that was all she would ever be as long as Iku lived.

She took the scalpel and saw down at the foot of the broken mirror, and carved that word into her left forearm. She would prefer a tattoo instead of this, but this was meant to torture Iku, who now had the same word in her arm.

Dark spots started clouding her vision and she quickly shoved her bloody arm in salt water and healed it, making it scar. She sucked in a breath as the salt set in the deep cuts.

"What are you doing?!" Iku demanded. Joselyn glared at what was left of the mirror,

"Revenge is best served cold. Or in this case, bloody. I am going to get rid of you and bring Jared back." Iku frowned through the cracked glass,

"And if that means you would lose your own life?" Joselyn nodded with the last of her strength as the blood loss had still drained her.

"Then so be it."

**A/N: So…this chapter was darker than normal and is the start of Joselyn's self-destructive path. And Eden's back and heading home, yay. **

**And remember to review and vote on what will be seen next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Reunion, a secret, and a prank gone wrong (because magic or bullshit always interferes)**

Zoe and Kelly were mapping out the multiverse. It had been three months since they learned Eden was alive, but they hadn't had any luck finding her.

(Unbeknownst to them, Eden had been trying to _carefully_ find them as well and ended up having her baby along the way. A son, named Amhar.)

"Where the hell could she be?!" Zoe asked herself, "What if she's hurt or captured or—" She was cut off by a knock at the door. She went and opened the door and froze.

Eden stood there, looking dirty but unharmed. Wearing a baggy pink dress and torn socks. But what was in her arms made Zoe's eyes widened,

Eden held a newborn to her shoulder, and he was smaller than a bag of sugar. Tiny toes peeked from his blanket, dangling in the breeze. His head, a crazy mass of brown curls wobbled beneath her supporting hand.

"E-Eden?" Zoe cupped the girl's cheek, "You're here..." she turned to the stairs, "GUYS! EDEN'S HOME!" And everyone ran down the stairs,

"Eden!" Kelly crushed his daughter in a hug, "You're back!"

"Guys..." a baby's cry filled the room and they all jumped back as Eden held out the baby,

"T-This is my son...Amhar Darbonne." Zoe took the tiny infant and let Eden collapse into their Dad's waiting arms.

"Yours? How? You couldn't have been alive for more than three months."

"I've been alive since three days after I died." Eden explained as Kelly gently rested her on the bed, "A man named Millard resurrected me. He claimed to have found me with amnesia, but these last three months of having my soul back had me doing research."

"And he raped you?!" Zoe glared, "Tell me where that bastard is and I will _end_ him!"

"Not exactly." Her baby sister just looked so small and frail, she didn't look healthy at all, "Apparently I agreed to be a surrogate while I had amnesia, but since the mother was barren...it was more being inseminated than raped. But the kid is mine."

"But I don't understand." Adrien said, "So when did you get your memory back, and how would you have taken the kid?"

"I got my memory back three months ago. But I needed to get home safely, and I was pregnant, so I stopped on a world called Innistrad, ran into a vampire version of Adrien, and had Amhar." Her expression turning dark.

...

The pain of labor had been a prison for her mind. In that jail cell of fear and confusion, the time had passed without her being able to keep track. Her stomach had tightened and, she had heard her own scream without being aware of making it. Nothing could be more brutal, not whips or chains. How did Zoe do it?! Was there anything more isolating than intense pain?

Having a baby hadn't made it all forgotten like she had been told. She had once wanted children, but now she could barely look at the child.

...

"So you managed to get home with a baby?" Marinette asked, holding the small infant, "Damn."

"I guess..." Eden squeaked when Zoe hugged her again.

"Oh honey, you need a spa getaway."

"So we're just going to ignore that Eden has been dead to us for a year and she just returned? Or are we just gonna be casual?" Gabriel asked. Emilie chuckled,

"Gabriel would be good at CinemaSins."

"I would like a getaway," Eden replied. Zoe clapped her hands,

"Okay! Women! Pack your bags! We're going. For the next month, my little sister is the fucking queen!"

"What about the men?!" Kelly asked, and Zoe pointed a finger at him.

"You need to make sure hell doesn't break loose. And you need to watch your grandchildren."

"Damnit." Adrien cursed, "Marinette, are you going?"

"Yup. I am leaving you and your Fae tendencies for a month and spending that month not having to constantly buy pregnancy tests. Have fun chaton, I love you."

All the men just groaned.

OoOoO

Joselyn was sitting at Jared's bedside as per usual. Only now, she was wearing a set of enchanted chains she had installed in the wall, just in case Iku tried to take control, or just in case she tried to attack him out of nowhere like the monster she was. While Iku hadn't taken control as often since Joselyn had talked Gizmo into doing more dangerous experiments in secret, she needed to be sure Jared was safe.

In that last three months, Jared had started having symptoms of a serious fever. Other than the obvious not waking up, he was now flushed and kicking from time to time, not to mention muttering incoherent words.

They had scanned him countless times, but there was just something that was burning him from the inside, but they couldn't pinpoint it.

Camille came in and Joselyn tucked herself in a corner and hid so her older friend wouldn't notice the chains on her wrists.

She sat in the chair Joselyn had been previously occupying. While the young witch spent a moment crying, she then paused.

"Joselyn, I think it's time we talk to your Dad." Joselyn's eyes widened and she hid a little more.

Camille got up and walked over, freezing at the sight of the chains, before softening. Fortunately, Joselyn had already lied and said she only put them on when she felt Iku taking control, so there was already an excuse.

"Joselyn," she took Joselyn's wrists and unlocked the chains with her magic, "Honey, when was the last time you slept?" Joselyn genuinely didn't know the answer to that.

"What did you say about asking Dad?" Camille frowned,

"Don't change the question. When did you sleep last? You've been avoiding everyone except Gizmo for months." Joselyn looked up,

"I sleep every night. Don't sleep well, but I do." Well...if by sleeping, she meant torturing the demon that lived inside her until she was unconscious, then yes, she slept all the time.

"Fine. But I meant to ask your Dad about advice for Jared's fever." Joselyn frowned,

"I thought we weren't going to tell anyone about this."

"We weren't. But we can agree that Jared's chances are getting lower, especially without his soul. So are you gonna make the call, or me?"

Joselyn pulled out her phone and called her Dad. But then she paused. If anyone would figure out what was really going on, it would be the literal mind mage. So she put up mental shields.

The call went through, and Kelly's face was on the other side,

"Hey, kid." Kelly said, "Oh! I didn't tell you! Eden's back! So what's up? You haven't been responding to my calls."

"Dad…" Joselyn looked away, "Can you just get over here? We need your help. Jared's sick…really sick."

"On a scale of 1-10, how sick would you say?"

"Lost his soul and has had a fever for three months." And then Kelly was behind her.

"Well then…how did I get here?" He shrugged, "Oh well." He walked over to Jared before turning, "Now, we've established I'm that friend who will do things, no questions asked. So should I ask or just accept?" Because he would just read their minds. Joselyn was keeping up her mental shields like no tomorrow.

"Just accept because even we don't know." Camille answered. Kelly shrugged,

"Okay. So… looking at him, I will need three bathtubs full of ice water, someone who can control ice, and someone strong and heat resistant—oh wait."

Gina came in, looking to glare at Joselyn before seeing Kelly and just looking startled.

"What's going on?"

"It seems Jared is burning out." Kelly replied, "So we gotta cool him down, and then put him in even deeper stasis, lest he die. So three bathtubs with ice water? Is that possible?"

Ten minutes later, there were three bathtubs of ice water and Kelly had shoved Jared into one, fully clothed because there are apparently no other males on this base who could help out.

Within seconds, the water literally started boiling. Camille threw out her hand and froze the water as commanded. Then Kelly took him out and plopped him into the next one.

This cycle continued for a few more minutes until the water remained lukewarm, in which Kelly took Jared into a back room and changed him into dry clothes.

"Okay. So I've been reading the minds of everyone without mental shields. And if you are right about Jared being a target, I have an idea."

OoOoO

"Jared needs a safe place." Kagami said, following Kelly—who was carrying Jared, a man who was a little bit bigger than him, on his back with no drain whatsoever—through the woods of New York on the Quantic World, "But we should have him monitored."

"Yeah. That's why we're here. I'm taking him somewhere safe, and I can monitor him."

"But what about the burnout?!" Gina asked worriedly, "Isn't that going to kill him?"

"I put him in stasis. More or less…coma within a coma…coma-ception. But he won't die. So…thumbs up."

"So where are we going?" Cam asked.

"Somewhere you haven't been yet. Your parents and I were going to take you here, but then bad things happened." They came up on stone cliff face.

"Dad?" Joselyn asked, "I can't be here. What if Iku—"

"Iku can't be here." Kelly responded, "I enchanted this domain decades ago. She is truly locked up for right now. And now watch this, I'm about to magic the fuck out of this cliff." He readjusted Jared's lifeless form and held out his hands, where a box that looked like the Miracle box appeared in front of him. Camille took Jared as Kelly started floating and glowing, the box became a beam of light that, revealing a cave.

Kelly turned back to normal and put Jared on his back again, "Come on in."

It was clear it was formerly a cave, and was dusty from lack of use, and was now more like an elaborate bunker. Kagami was looking around with Gina and Camille in fascination.

"What is this?"

"I guess it was the Fortress of Solitude for Mia, Harry and I. This is where we found our Miraculous, and we stayed here when we needed a break. But I'm taking Jared to the back room, or the Chamber of Waking."

"Light and Dark exists in balance here." Kelly's voice changed to a more feminine one, his eyes becoming cat-like, much like Plagg's before becoming mere High Fae, "And there are those who would abuse such neutral ground. That's why our predecessors devised a certain…trick. From that day forth, the former Guardian Temple was transformed, and all who visit this land will be lost to oblivion, none ever able to solve the mystery. None, except Kelly and Amelia."

"Who are you?!" Gina asked, noticing the different eyes, before they switched back to Kelly's.

"Huh? Gina, you know me."

"Then who was talking?" Kagami asked, "Sounded feminine, and your eyes changed."

"My eyes change all the time," Kelly admitted, "From my emotions to when I use magic. What was different this time?"

"Nothing." Gina shook herself, "Must have just been my imagination." Camille and Joselyn looked to each other, unsure.

They then saw a marble white door, which was opened by Kelly holding out his wrist, the one with scorch marks along it. The room was made of marble as well, or some other white material, and there were three thrones unlock it. The thrones were carved of a white material, crested with several jewels and decorative metals forming an elegant coat of arms.

Kelly set Jared in the center throne, where he just fell slack, sleeping with his head bowed.

"He's gonna have one hell of a crick in his neck." Camille mused, and Kelly shrugged,

"I had to sleep in that chair for three months, and if the coma is magical, it isn't as bad. So Kagami, just hook him up to the IV just in case he needs sustenance." Gina put a blanket around Jared, and Joselyn bent down, smiling while looking at her older brother's sleeping face,

"I know it's a lonely place. But it's safe. Cam and I will be back to wake you up before you know it."

"No. Bad Joselyn." Kelly lectured, "Last time someone said that to a comatose person in a secluded location, it took thirteen years."

"Oh. Shit. Sorry."

They left the cave—very reluctantly on the part of everyone—and Kelly closed the place up with his magic.

"So…Kelly." Kelly turned to Kagami, "We are trying to keep this a secret for the sake of the public. Can you…keep a secret." Kelly nodded,

"I can do that. Joselyn, can we talk alone?" Joselyn froze, before nodding, following him into the woods.

"Are they hurting you, kiddo? You look like hell." Joselyn let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. So he hadn't figured it out. That was good.

"No. They've been very kind." _Monster_. She shook herself to make sure he wouldn't access her thoughts, "I've just been having a hard time since Jared…"

"Understandable." Kelly smiled, ruffling her hair, "But seriously Joselyn, I know I haven't been the best parent to you. Turns out I'm better at being a friend than an actual father. But if you ever need me, I will be there. As proven because I can apparently teleport." Joselyn smiled, hugging him. He didn't deserve the idea that she would be dead soon.

"Daddy, I'm okay. I thank you for caring, but I'm a bit more…free…on Blight. I'll still visit."

"I hope so, because Eden clearly has postpartum depression, wants nothing to do with her son, so I'm thinking about trolling Jared into thinking Cam was pregnant and the kid is his." That got the first laugh out of Joselyn in months, imagining not only Jared awake, but freaking out at the idea of being a parent. That was funny.

"You're cruel."

"Yup! And equally shameless!" Joselyn looked up,

"Dad…you're always going to love me, right? No matter what I do?" _Like kill myself to kill the demon inside me?_

Kelly frowned, bending down to meet her height. Because while she was taller than her sisters had been at her age—being the only one of the three to have been a normal, healthy pregnancy—she was still shorter than him,

"Joselyn. That's what a father does. I will always be here for you, no matter what."

"Even if I wanted to do something bad?" He sighed,

"Have you met Zoe? I support her in fucking murder. As long as you aren't hurting _yourself_, I will happily help you." Damnit. But she had to put up the facade of just being sad about Jared.

"Right…thanks Dad."

"Any time, Jos."

OoOoO

"Okay, so the food is in the pantry, and remember that you need to take Catra to Plagg," Marinette said to Adrien. Adrien kissed her,

"Plagg actually got a lung surgery, so he's been given the clear to spend the month at the mansion. Don't think it will last, but we'll all be fine Bugaboo."

Zoe wasn't nearly as worried about her kids. She had been working hard and earned the month of vacation because her 'kidnapped' sister returning after almost two years deserved sisterly bonding time.

"Bye Eli, try not to get murdered while I'm gone." And with that, the women left and Kelly appeared not long after.

"Okay! And now, what the fuck are we gonna do this month?"

They all walked inside, and Gabriel turned evilly to Eli. Adrien understood what his father was thinking and also had a Cheshire grin.

"What?" Eli frowned, "I took the kids to Tom and Sabine for the week. They always wanted an excuse to watch the kids. Amhar and Catra are here though. And will you please tell me what's with the evil grins."

"Say, Eli..." Nino said, "What was Zoe's labor like?" Eli blanched, now knowing exactly where this would go.

"No."

"You shouldn't have said that," Adrien smirked, pulling out an electric shock treatment—and why did they have that? No idea—"Because now we're gonna do fifteen hours!"

Eli backed away, "No. Not gonna do that. Normally I would, because I love my wife, but I think I'm breaking the laws of reality with how unlucky I can get. This will go horribly wrong. And Zoe specifically told me not to get murdered." When that didn't deter them—Harrison and Kelly were with Plagg in the other room, and it wasn't like they would be helpful—he pulled out his phone,

"I will call Jared!" They all winced. Since Jared was the biggest of them, he was the one in charge of stopping plans like this. It was like being the babysitter of a bunch of insane children.

Yes, one of the greatest warriors in the multiverse had been demoted to babysitting grown ass men to ensure they didn't kill each other doing something stupid. He had already had to stop them while playing Russian Roulette, which basically involves a gun with an unknown amount of bullets (six at max), remove one, and fire it. They had been trying to see if Adrien had any remnant of his insane voice-actor-sharing counterpart Nagito Komaeda.

Nagito Komaeda is a student of Hope's Peak Academy's Class 77-B, featured in _Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair_. His title is Ultimate Lucky Student. But...he's more than a little insane, even willingly setting up a situation where he would be killed by the 'traitor', in a method that should still technically count as a terrifying suicide. His powers of luck got him out of tight spots, like Russian Roulette, and since Adrien formerly had the curse of bad luck, they wanted to see if there were any similarities between the two other than voice.

Jared had also had to also stop Nino from trying to use the most complicated time travel in the history of time travel, and all sorts of shit for Gabriel. Curse both of them having talented voice actors!

But since Eli, Jared, Harrison and Kelly's voice actors were unknown, they were wisely avoiding this little activity. But now Eli was about to be put in a situation he knew would end badly, so he went to call Jared, only for Nino to swat the phone out of his hand.

"No, we agreed that after Russian Roulette that we wouldn't call Jared while he's on Blight."

"Why can't Adrien do this?!"

"Because I'm a sadistic son of a bitch." Adrien replied, "And Marinette had a C-section. I mean, that would be another way of testing the Komaeda theory since that would be self-destructive, but still."

"Great." Gabriel moaned, "This is gonna get dark." Eli had been sneaking away, only to faint.

Kelly was standing there, holding his baby grandson, "I'm down with this plan. Let's just hope my new powers don't fuck this up."

"So what are Amhar's powers?" Gabriel asked as Adrien dumped Eli in his room until he regained consciousness.

"I don't know." Kelly looked down at the tiny baby. Amhar took mostly after his mother, other than the core of silver around his pupils and his dark brown hair, with sea-green eyes. He seemed more like a normal newborn than his cousins had been—sleeping in favor of bouncing around the moment they left the womb.

"But this kid is a Worldbender's son," Nino frowned, "How are his powers not showing?"

"I didn't say he hadn't shown powers, I just don't know his affinity. He already makes things move with his mind." He looked up, "If Eden doesn't get better, or does and still doesn't want her son, I'm gonna fuck with Jared and Cam's minds so they take the kid. I still find it ironic that Jared of all people is the most responsible of us."

"I'm down with that." Harrison replied, "Grandkid for me."

Adrien got up, "I'm gonna go check on Plagg and Catra. We'll torture Eli in the morning."

He walked into Plagg's room and found Plagg was accounting tales of his adventures with Adrien himself to Catra.

"See Catra, your Dad is the best chosen I ever had." Plagg explained, "And he's also a clueless hopeless romantic. You have no idea how annoying it was before Zoe came, when I was half expecting he would see Ladybug detransform and ask Marinette where Ladybug went." Catra giggled.

"You really thought I was that dense?" Adrien asked. Plagg nodded with a wink.

"Yeah. How many blue haired, blue eyes, teenage girls with pigtails who are always late and have similar earrings are there?"

"I suppose you're right." He picked up Catra, "Are you feeling okay? Don't try lying. I know you too well." Plagg smiled,

"I've been better. But I'm not about to collapse." Adrien sat on the bed,

"Do you think I would be able to move you to the living room tomorrow? We're gonna play an amazing joke on Eli." Plagg nodded,

"Yeah. I'm tired of being sick, so a distraction would be nice."

"We're going to fix you up." Adrien promised, "But this is all on you for hiding it for a year." Plagg smiled,

"Oh fuck you, Mr. I know you too well."

"Touche."

Catra fell asleep in Adrien's arms, smiling as the two friends laughed like old times.

OoOoO

"Is Eli sleeping, still unconscious, or avoiding us?" Gabriel asked as he put out the waffles—that's right, Gabriel Agreste was cooking. With Kelly's help, but he was cooking, hell had frozen over—noticing the lack of one warlock.

"I would guess…" Adrien frowned, "Actually, with Eli's track record of bad luck, it could be any of them."

"GUYS, I'LL KILL YOU!" A young woman stormed into the kitchen.

She was a beautiful, curvy woman with long chocolate brown hair and violet eyes. But what caught their attention was the white streaks in her hair, the chain scars on her wrists, and the fact she was wearing Eli's clothing.

"Eli?" Nino gaped. The girl put a hand on her hip,

"No. I'm Beyonce. OF COURSE IT'S ELI!"

"So Eliza?" Adrien smirked and Eli—or Eliza—had a hand on the Fae male's throat.

"Can someone tell me how this happened?!" Eliza asked. Kelly raised a hand,

"There was an incident in Tibet, and my powers have been getting stronger. I think this might have been my doing." Eliza blanched,

"So what do we do?!"

Plagg stood up, "Solve this problem before Zoe finds out. Otherwise we're all screwed."

This was going to be interesting.

**A/N: And we needed a break from the drama to have this happen. Lesson learned - Don't leave the Sommers/Agreste/Lahiffe/Carpenter men alone without Jared to keep them in line.**

**Also, thanks to my friend, the file with Another's Beginning is finally working, so I'll be getting the next chapter of that out before this.**

**Remember to vote and review. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: New Editions**

"What the hell?!" Adrien looked at the young woman standing there, "So this really is Eli?!"

Eli, or they supposed Eliza, shrugged, taking deep breaths and forcing herself to calm down as she examined the ice dancing along her fingertips, "Yeah, it's seriously me." She grabbed at her long locks, "So can someone _please_ explain, because it seems I am currently a woman, even though I have a wife and kids."

"You're suddenly unusually calm about this," Nino pointed out, and Eliza shrugged,

"I have Zoe Carpenter as a wife, and I managed to freeze my own heart once. This is not quite strange enough to worry me quite yet." She looked down at herself and her ill-fitting clothing, "I might need to raid Cam's closet." She sighed, "I am never going to live this down."

Adrien looked her up and down, "You actually look like you're Marinette's body type except taller. I might need to take you shopping." Nino shrugged,

"I'll go too."

Kelly crossed his arms, and suddenly Eliza's clothing fit. Everyone blinked a few times in confusion, but regardless, this was only a temporary solution, though, "You three do that, and bring back food while Harry, Gabe, and I look for a way to reverse this before Zoe gets back."

Everybody collectively shuddered at the thought.

OoOoO

Kelly, Harrison, and Gabriel looked through texts. It was still odd how Gabriel had changed from an icy fashion designer to a kind and helpful young man, but it wasn't like they were complaining. They were in the kitchen, so Natalie could help.

"Gabriel, look at this." Natalie passed a book to Gabriel, which he gave to Harrison.

"Yeah, the black garnet."

"Looks like a large version of the reality stone." Gabriel mused, "Oh shit, is Kelly gonna be like Jane Foster?"

"I don't think so." Harrison said, looking over at Kelly, "He doesn't seem sick at all. Nothing like when Pikko died. But maybe it's because he's already a mage."

"I guess…but what about Eli?" Gabriel held up the book,

"The black garnet is said to be a failsafe." He informed, "It was designed by the council of death to protect the multiverse, and also trap Iku. They usually reside in guardian temples. Much like the Infinity stones, there are six—because fuck Antarctica—and they have different powers. Each one is strong enough to trap his sister, the Enchantress Iku, and all of them together are strong enough to kill her. I guess since Kelly only had half of the other stone's power, he was able to safely take it." Kelly tensed visibly, squeezing his eyes shut, and any joy he had had moments ago vanished as he started weeping.

"Kels? You okay?" Gabriel asked, and Kelly pulled his knees up to his chest,

"I'm sorry, Dori..."

Harrison recoiled as though he had been slapped before his expression also became somber, "Gabriel, this is something between Kelly and me, don't worry about it."

"No, I think I should worry."

"We had a friend a while back, he was Kelly's other half for the peridot... we lost him not long before Kelly got banished to Earth," Gabriel growled,

"Regina?"

"Yeah." Harrison pulled Kelly close, whispering assurances in his ear and running his hands through Kelly's hair, "Shh, it's okay. How about we go find him some time?"

Kelly relaxed, wiping his eyes, "Yeah." He nodded to himself, "Yeah... So, I now can bend reality." He then grinned as though he hadn't been crying moments before, "Sweet! I can be Mary Poppins!"

"That's your priority?" Gabriel asked, disturbed by the sudden change, but he knew Kelly well enough to know this was just a facade, a cheerful mask to hide the broken man underneath it. He just hoped Emilie would be able to get Kelly to stop bottling up that trauma, but something told him there was much more to this Dori individual than Harrison had said.

"I have no shame for wanting a fly with an umbrella," Kelly replied with a nonchalant hand gesture, opening his eyes, and Gabriel felt smug, seeing those eyes were still not lying and remained dark blue.

"Guys!" Harrison threw his hands up, "My son is now my daughter, I think we need to figure that out!"

"Well," Gabriel crossed his arms, "If Kelly's power is to bend reality, why not just practice and turn Eli back once he's got a handle on it?"

Kelly nodded, and then the trio came in. Eliza wore a more formfitting shirt and yoga pants, and her hair was braided into a bun. She looked down at the floor,

"I called Zoe." Eliza said softly, "Explaining the situation. She's pissed but willing to give us a little time to fix this. Excuse me, I need to be alone for a bit." She left, and Adrien sighed,

"Someone tried to grab her ass." He sighed, shaking his head, "I knew Douglas was a monster, but I didn't realize before Eli broke down that..." he clenched his fists, "I wish I had..."

"Stopped that from happening?" Harrison asked, "Try being the father, knowing that your son put up with such treatment to keep you alive. It's in the past now, but that doesn't stop a butterfly effect being the only reason I haven't created another time machine and killed that bastard myself."

Gabriel looked down at Amhar, "Amhar…I am so sorry you were born in this family. We aren't exactly sunshine and rainbows."

Amhar blinked at him with confused eyes, and Gabriel sighed, hoping the young boy could be innocent for a little while longer.

OoOoO

The girls meanwhile, were having a lovely time.

Zoe took a long sip from her Bloody Mary, trying to distract herself from the insanity her husband—or she supposed wife—had gotten into. She'd still love Eli regardless as long as the person inside was the same, but that didn't stop her from being annoyed. "Oh fuck, I needed this. Are you having fun, little sis?"

Eden nodded a little, but still looked really upset. Zoe looked away, giving her sister the alcoholic beverage,

"Drink. You're eighteen now, and you really look like you need it." Eden took the drink. Zoe remembered when Eden was little and would always eat the olives out of Dad's Bloody Mary. And besides, both of them had been babysat by Grandma Millie—well, adopted since apparently she wasn't their Dad's real mom, but whatever—so they both had a taste for alcohol.

Eden downed the Bloody Mary, and Dausi looked impressed, eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Damn, girl. Didn't think you could do that."

"Try having a son."

"Join the club." Emilie held up her drink, "Parenthood in rough. But worst case, Amhar has a ton of people to watch out for him."

"Dad says that if I choose, we dump the little squish ball on Jared and Cam." She sounded really monotone and just lacking the emotion that she would typically give. Hana and Alya looked between each other,

"Eden, you don't really mean we would dump poor Amhar on _Jared_ of all people?!" Hana said, "It's gonna be a war of Jared dumping the kid back with you and you dumping it with him. He already has to deal with the men who act like three-year-olds!"

"Oh shit." Zoe got out of the hot tub to dry off, grabbing her phone and dialing Jared, "I'm betting it now that Jared has had to get off Blight to deal with them."

"It's been three days," Dausi said, unsure.

"Yeah. Three whole days and already, Eli's fallen victim to being the universal punching bag again." Zoe rolled her eyes, "Connor is taking Amren to see Cora," she shuddered at the name of the MerQueen, "And since Connor is the only reasonable one, Jared needs to play mom to the man babies."

"You are aware that you are referring to literal geniuses, right?" Alya said. Zoe nodded,

"Have you not read or watched _Death Note_? That's _exactly_ why I'm afraid." She dialed Jared's number, only to go straight to voicemail. She frowned and then phoned her Dad, "Hey, Dad."

_"Hey, dude. What's up?"_

"Have you had to call Jared yet?" There was a silence, then,

_"No. Well, yes, but it was to check on Joselyn. Turns out, Jared is sick and on bed rest. Don't call him, he's apparently vomiting. Eli's fine. Sleeping right now, and having a little PTSD. Plagg is with Adrien and Nino, Gabriel is chilling with Natalie and Harrison is turning a missile into a rocket. So you know, the usual stuff."_

Zoe narrowed her eyes, "Ya sure?"

_"Quite sure. I'm working on reversing this."_

Kelly hung up, and Zoe checked the time,

"Oh! It's time for the massages. Then we have dinner at eight and the show in the theater at ten." Eden got up,

"Oh god, I need that. Let's go!"

Dausi turned to Zoe, "Do you really believe things have been normal for three days?"

"No. Honestly, I want to head back, because I know Eli's going through some stuff. Can you cover for me while I go back to check?" Amelia nodded stiffly,

"Please make sure Eli's okay."

OoOoO

Gabriel had woken up and found Kelly sitting in the study, reading the texts until the light of the full moon. He looked over the mage's shoulder and frowned at the notes Kelly was writing in the books.

"Curse?" He noticed some notes on breaking curses, and Kelly yelped, falling out of his chair.

"Ah! Oh, Gabriel, you scared me. I just supposed learning to warp reality to break curses would be useful."

"Was Dori cursed?"

Kelly tensed, before sighing, "Yes. Dorian was cursed. I don't know where he is now, but if I got back, I want to bring him home too. And if the stones are gonna be relevant, we might as well go find him." He leaned his head back, "He was there for me when nobody else understood how sick I felt, out of control, when I first got my powers. His experiences weren't much better, mind you, and that just made it easier to forgive myself..."

Gabriel sat down, pouring some wine, and wonder how much of it Kelly had drunk already to actually be talking. He decided not to push and ask how Dorian had been cursed because if Regina had been the culprit, it wasn't good. "So, you're gonna go find him."

"I've wanted to for a long time...but things are gonna be awkward." He slammed his fist against the desk, "I had to lose him, I know none of my girls would have been born if Dorian was with me, but I wish I could have a second chance." His eyes widened, and Gabriel knew Kelly was trapped in the past as he started crying out, making the room shake, "It's my fault! My fault he's gone, my fault my girls are so messed up, my fault Maeve died, my fault Mor...!" he took unsteady gulps of air, and Gabriel grabbed his shoulders, trying to get through to him as his eyes started glowing multicolor.

"Kels! You need to calm down, none of your girls blame you, and I'm sure Dorian doesn't blame you either. Just talk to me, steady breaths."

"Give me another chance!" Kelly cried out, and there was a blinding light throughout the room, and Gabriel needed to cover his eyes.

And then silence, the only sound in the room being Kelly's crying.

And then the sound of a baby's cry.

Gabriel opened his eyes and found in a tiny basket next to where Kelly lay, there was a small silver-haired baby. He picked the infant up and noticed it was a girl child.

Had Kelly's reality-warping really just...?

A second chance. That was what Kelly had wanted, and it seemed his power had complied in the form of this child. But she appeared to be Fae of some sort. But upon further inspection, the Naiad came to the realization that this child was either yokai or a hanyou. This was going to be interesting.

He bent down next to Kelly, seeing the man had fallen asleep. Gabriel smiled softly, throwing a blanket over his ward's father's body.

"Sleep well, Kelly." He then went to Eliza's room, seeing she was awake and staring at the ceiling. Then she looked up,

"Oh, hey, Gabriel. What is it?" Her brow furrowed, "What's with the baby?"

"Uh... Kelly just created her. No, seriously. One second she wasn't there, next she was. Can you take care of her tonight?" Eliza nodded,

"Yeah. Any progress on changing me back?"

"I think so. I'll ask Kels when he wakes up," He put his hand on Eliza's shoulder, "If anybody hurts you, I will kill them. You don't need to be afraid."

"I'm not. It's all in the past, and Douglas is dead. Besides... man, woman, it didn't change anything. I'll take care of the baby, but I really don't want to talk about it."

"I get it. I won't push." He got up to leave, "Zoe's heading home, by the way. She should be here in the morning."

"Thanks for letting me know, Gabe."

"Anytime."

OoOoO

"Okay!" Kelly announced, looking at one of the books, then to Zoe and Eliza, "I think I figured it out. Wanna try it." Eliza nodded,

"Yeah." She stood up, "Is this gonna hurt?"

"Did it hurt the first time?"

"Don't know. I've grown accustomed to sleeping through the pain."

"Alright," Zoe held Eliza's hand, "I'll be right here. Let's just hope this works."

Kelly held out a hand in Eliza's direction, muttering words under his breath, and Eliza did scream because, as it turned out, this did really hurt.

"Eli, just breathe, darling," Zoe assured, stroking her hair as the change finished back into regular Eli. Eli smiled, then passed out.

"Eli?!"

OoOoO

Eli woke up and felt arms around him. His entire body was sore, but he was very much awake.

"Eli? Are you awake?" Eli opened his eyes and smiled to see his beautiful wife smiling down at him. He seemed to he resting with her arms around him with his head on her shoulder.

"Good morning, my Queen." He sat up, then jumped at the sight of the bassinet in their room, and then he remembered the nightmare of the last time he had been awake. But then he saw Zoe was holding a baby, and his brow furrowed,

"Wha...?"

"Dad brought her into existence, but he said he doesn't think he's a good enough parent to take care of her, so I thought maybe you and I could take her in. He name's Danielle Komaeda Sommers."

"Komaeda? Like Nagito?"

"Yeah. Dani's affinity is luck, aka bullshit powers. I learned that two days ago. You've been sleeping for a week."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah." Zoe nodded, looking upset, "I was really worried about you."

"Really?" Eli smirked, "After all the shit I've survived, you think your Dad's reality-warping is gonna be what kills me? Do I need to list the shit I've survived? Mara, Regina, Mara, Douglas, bullshit, my bad luck, Mara, the Dark Realm, do I need to keep going?" She rolled her eyes,

"True enough."

"I made a promise, my Queen." Eli bowed to her while still sitting in bed, "That I wouldn't be dying any time soon until you were good and ready to move on. And I still have trauma to get through, and would rather live to get through that." She winked,

"Wanna hold our daughter?" Eli nodded,

"And can we never bring up the true accident of her origin?"

"Agreed." She plopped the baby down.

Danielle, unlike her siblings, had silver hair and big pale green eyes. That alone made her stand out, ignoring her elongated canine teeth, which she had.

"So? Was it worth it? Being turned into a woman for a bit, so Dad managed to learn new aspects of his powers?" Eli looked down at his new daughter, who he could already tell the other kids were gonna love.

"Yes. But maybe no more kids for a little while." Then Zoe looked away,

"Well…actually…"

"Please tell me you're not about to say what I think you're about to say."

"Yup."

"Yay! More grandchildren!" Kelly and Harrison came in, "That's what you mean, right?"

"No." Zoe raised an eyebrow, "I was just saying that we're still young, and I don't want to take out the option. Yes, I have four kids, but you never know. We still need a small army in the event of the zombie apocalypse." Eli then sighed in relief,

"I actually thought you were pregnant!"

"Nice to know I trolled you."

"Shut up, I want to sleep." All four of them looked down at Danielle, who was looking at them, blinking innocently. They all looked between each other and the baby.

"Well then…" Kelly was the first to say, "Didn't see that coming."

**A/N: Next is a time jump, and we get back to the depressing world of Joselyn's situation. **

**And yes, I decided not to take my sleeping pills so I would watch the new episodes. Watched them, already brain-altered them for flashbacks, worry not.**

**And…remember to review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Plan B**

Gavin looked around, unsure of where he was. It was a castle.

The castle was set high in grassy mountains, surrounded by flowing water. The building itself decreased in width as it reached the ground, tall spires protruding from the roof. Two lengths of golden chain connected the castle to twin peaks. There was one major building; which bore a resemblance to a clock tower. It also had a circular area in the middle of it, with a large building overhead.

He walked inside and found, to his surprise, Jared sleeping in the center throne, which had a green, gemstone-like glow for a moment, before turning to solid stone.

"Jared?" Gavin walked up to him, "Jared, wake up. What are you doing here?" Jared didn't respond. No matter how much Gavin shook him, the older man remained immobile.

"That was a neat trick." Gavin turned and saw a young man walking up to the throne menacingly, "No wonder nobody could find him."

"Find him?" Gavin raised an eyebrow, "What's the meaning of this?" The man shrugged,

"The boy is very important to me. Well, not emotionally, but to my plans." He took Jared and threw him over his shoulder. Somehow, Jared still didn't wake up.

"What plans?! Let him go!" Gavin threw his hands out, only to find his magic didn't work.

"My plans to lure my sister to me. I hope to persuade her, but if not, I will have no choice but to kill her. This man," he gestured to Jared, "has not only been marinating in magic for months, but is also very important to my sister's vessel." Then he vanished,

"Stop!" Gavin begged.

And then he shot awake, every thought in high definition. His eyes took in the moonlight shining in from the observatory window.

His heart was pounding, mind empty. It was as if a hypodermic of adrenaline has been emptied into his carotid. His breathing rate began to steady as he grabbed his dream journal and sketched in what he had seen.

Stepping down from his bed, he got onto the elevator and walked to Gabriel's room. His adopted father didn't mind when he came after a vision, so he wasn't nervous when going down to the kitchen and opening the door to the secret back room where the fashion designer slept. It definitely helped Gavin's sanity that he could see Natalie.

But to his surprise, Gabriel was already awake, comforting a crying Elaine.

"Sir?" Gabriel looked up,

"Did we wake you up?" Gavin shook his head,

"I had a vision."

"Oh…come on." Gavin smiled and crawled onto the bed. Elaine was drinking some tea.

Elaine looked up with bright grey-blue eyes, "Daddy, can you tell us a story?" Gabriel nodded,

"Yeah. What story do you want to hear?"

"How you got that scar on your eye." Gabriel put a finger to the scar millimeters away from having gouged out his eye.

"Aunt Zoe doesn't want people messing with Uncle Eli. Punishment Time happened and it wasn't pretty." It had been seven months since Danielle was born, but Punishment Time was a spot nobody discussed. Adrien and Nino had been reverted to normal, but bring up Punishment Time and they were stammering disasters—or Nino had been traumatized into silence, so he just paled. There was also a suspiciously spear-like scar on Adrien's stomach.

It had occurred in Zoe's murder closet, and that was also something that was not gone near, but really should have been babyproofed at this point.

Gabriel shuddered, "Gavin, what was your vision about?" Gavin looked up, his eyes widening as he remembered what he had come down here to say,

"Jared's in danger!"

OoOoO

"Mom! Dad!" Felix ran into his parents' bedroom, "I got an A on my report card!" Zoe and Eli turned from where they were spending time with Danielle and the twins,

"Great job, Fe!" Zoe got up and hugged him, "I know you've been working hard."

"Fe!" Danielle crawled over and hugged his leg. Felix looked to be eleven, so he was in 6th grade. Eli smiled at his baby daughter.

"I think this calls for a celebration." He said, wrapping an arm around his eldest son, "What do you wanna do?"

"Can we go to that pizza stand you guys went to when you met?" Eli and Zoe looked to each other, nodding,

"Sure. We can do that."

And so, the family of six went to the pizza stand. Roxas ran around the small area with Aelin while Zoe fed Danielle some soft food. Felix looked up with a grin.

"Are you proud of me?" Zoe ruffled his hair,

"Of course we are, kid! We didn't even hover over you like assholes!" She winked, "You're gonna go places, son."

"Well yeah, I'm a Nephilim." Eli shrugged,

"This is true—Roxas you're about to phase into a wall!" Roxas turned, and ran in the direction of his father's voice, only for both him and Aelin to shriek.

Douglas stood there, holding both kids but the hair.

"Well well, you shouldn't have decided to eat in an abandoned park. These little freaks could meet bad people." Eli was frozen in terror, and Zoe glared,

"Douglas. What the hell are you doing here? I killed you! Do I need to make you pull a Junko Enoshima to make you die?!" That translates to Super Duper Nasty Torture, and then getting crushed by a giant rock.

Douglas shrugged, "No. I'm not even here for the little brats, I'm here for Eli." Zoe turned and saw Eli standing, but his eyes were dull and the PTSD was practically tangible.

"Douglas, leave them alone." Roxas didn't need to wait, phasing out of his attacker's hand and running to a stunned Felix—who was guarding Danielle. Zoe got up, transforming into Heartless,

"Let Aelin go!" Douglas smirked, holding a knife to Aelin's throat.

"Eli or her? You pick."

"Me." Everyone turned to Eli, who was shaking. He walked up to Douglas, "Let her go. And I will go with you."

"Eli! NO!" Heartless lunged at Douglas, releasing Aelin and digging her sword in the bastard's leg. But Douglas didn't even blink, he just laughed.

And then Zoe found herself in a castle. Eli was nowhere to be found.

"Eli? ELI?!" Zoe ran around the bedroom she was in, trying and failing to use her magic. She pulled on the bond she had with her mate, trying to find him, but came up empty. He was alive, she could feel it, but she couldn't tell if he was well or not.

A man came in.

"I hope you can forgive the method you were brought here." Zoe turned and changed her hand into a sword—because she could still do that.

"Where is Eli and where are my children?!"

"Relax." The man assured, "Your children are well. Back at the mansion, a little traumatized and worried, but unharmed. Allow me to introduce myself," he bowed, "Millard, lord of this domain." Millard…that name was familiar…

Zoe then stabbed him in the stomach, "You hurt my sister! WHERE IS ELI?!" Millard's eyes turned pure white and sent her flying back,

"No violence. I revived your sister. As for your husband…" a screen turned on and Zoe saw Eli shaking against the wall in another room with Douglas standing over him, "Tell me what I want to know and he doesn't get hurt."

"Let him go!" Zoe seethed, radiating with dark energy. She gaped as the stab wound she had put in Millard knitted together right before her eyes.

"I will if you tell me what I want to know." Millard sat in a chair, "Where is the Chamber of Waking?"

"The what?" She raised an eyebrow, "You lost me. Chamber of Waking? What's next, you're asking me what Kingdom Hearts is? Hate to break it to ya bro, not even the creators know the answer to that. Or are you mistaking Chamber of Secrets for Chamber of Waking? Because that one is in Hogwarts, which I think is in the UK."

"Bitch, I have your husband in the hands of a psychotic son of a bitch, do you really want to fuck with me?" Zoe paled, then glared,

"I'm going to rip your throat out. I seriously have no idea what you are talking about!"

"Jared Brock! He's sleeping in the Chamber of Waking! I need him!"

Zoe just shrugged, "Jared is on Blight with his girlfriend and my youngest sister. So unless you're referring to one of the Jared Brocks of another timeline, then you need to fact check. Because you have the wrong Zoe for that either way." Millard looked angry,

"I don't want to be the bad guy. I don't want to hurt your precious husband, but I will to get the info." Zoe again lunged and he yelped as she went a ridiculous speeds to strangle him.

"LET HIM GO!" And then Millard was done with her shit and his eyes turned pure white and she was sent flying backwards and crashed into the stone wall, knowing full well that she now had a concussion.

"Where is the Chamber of Waking?"

"I…don't…know!" He bent down and narrowly avoided being murdered again, and placed his hands on her temples.

"Fuck. You're telling the truth." He pressed a button on an earpiece she hadn't noticed he was wearing, "Douglas, release the boy."

_"Really?"_ Zoe heard the reply, _"I wanted to have fun with him."_

"Let him go or you're back in my dungeon." Millard huffed, holding a hand out to her, "Come on, I'll take you to your husband now."

Zoe glared, but followed him, only to find Douglas dead and Eli holding Goldryn.

"Eli!" She ran over to him, "Are you hurt? How did you get Goldryn?" Eli grinned,

"I am not hurt. Got one hell of a headache from being drugged, but I actually created a spell to summon Goldryn to me. And PTSD be damned, killing Douglas was satisfying. Best therapy ever."

"Well I'm glad for you." She turned to Millard, "And now to kill this bastard." Millard's eyes widened and then the couple crashed into the living room of the Agreste Mansion.

"Zoe! Eli!" The kids ran over excitedly. Harrison was using his vest—which is basically a life vest that vibrates so much that it shakes his lungs around, gets the crap out of his lungs and was one of the more common treatments for Cystic Fibrosis—and he also beamed.

Kelly hugged them both, "Are you hurt?"

"Nope." Zoe shrugged, "That guy who got Eden pregnant wanted to know the location of something called the Chamber of Waking. Eventually he realized I had no idea what he was talking about." To her surprise, Harrison, Amelia and Kelly all looked to each other worriedly.

"The Chamber of Waking?" Amelia looked really scared, "Are you sure he said Waking and not something like Repose or Oblivion?"

"Yeah, Waking. Why?" Harrison coughed as he deactivated his vest,

"Why did he want the location?"

"Apparently Jared is sleeping there. But I told him he has the wrong version of Jared, or the wrong version of me." Kelly bowed his head,

"He didn't." He sighed, "Guys, sit down, I have a confession." They all sat down—the entire family, that is a lot of people.

"A year ago, Jared lost his soul and fell into a coma." Murmuring started up, but a gesture made them stop, "He was burning out, so I put him in the Chamber of Waking to protect him. Only myself and Amelia can open it, and Harrison is the only other person who can navigate it. Morrigan doesn't count because nobody has heard from her for years."

"So Jared's been there for a year?" Gavin asked, "I had a vision that he was in a castle of the sort, and a guy came and took him—something about plans and a sister."

"That makes sense." Eden muttered quietly, "His goal is to either persuade or kill Iku, his sister. But why would Jared be of any use there?" Gavin looked in his Dream Journal,

"He said Jared was important to his sister's vessel."

"So…" Adrien put a finger under his chin as he bounced Emma and Hugo, "That leaves Kagami, Gina, Cam and Joselyn."

"That doesn't matter right now." Kelly said, "I didn't tell any of you because I didn't want to endanger you. I wasn't really given much context, but I got from Gina that Iku did something to his soul, and for some reason hates Joselyn—so I would say that's a lead."

"So he's been sleeping for a year." Felix held out his phone in panic, "The Blue Moon! It's next week!"

"Shit." Came from everyone. Adrien stood up,

"Well, Jared has saved us from dying from doing stupid shit more times than I care to count." He said, "So I think we owe it to him to save him from this."

"I agree." Hana said, "Besides, Cam and Joselyn really care about him." Zoe smiled,

"I'm doing for another soul rescue mission." Eli shrugged,

"Cool, let's do this." Kelly stood up, activating the Gummi Ship,

"Time to go then."

OoOoO

"STOP IT!" Iku shrieked as Joselyn dragged the scalpel across her stomach. While Joselyn had decided she wouldn't kill herself until Jared woke up, because killing Iku would get rid of any chance to save him, but she had long since stopped being careful. She and Gizmo were performing experiments to remove the Enchantress, ones that were dangerous as hell.

Thanks to the power of glamors, nobody other than Gizmo knew what was really going on, and fortunately Gizmo was surprisingly apathetic. Joselyn wasn't sure if she hadn't been taught to feel, or genuinely just gave no fucks. Gizmo was very apathetic and easily bored to an unhealthy and abnormal degree. Because of this, her behavior and mannerisms tended to be extremely erratic and unstable; keeping up one "appearance" for too long bored her, which caused her to often switch between different personas. Gizmo's "moods" included—but were doubtfully limited to—her normal kid genius persona, sickening cuteness, severe depression, clinical sophistication, boisterous vulgarity, and eerie stoicism.

Needless to say, Gizmo was a friend, but she just didn't care if Joselyn lived or died. Which, given Joselyn's self-destructive behavior, was a good thing for her plans.

If she thought about it, Gina might have known as well, because she didn't bother with glamors around the redhead. Gina hated her guts, and while she had been given the silent treatment in favor of verbal abuse, it still stung. Deep down, she knew Gina wanted her to die, so there was no worry there.

Camille was still devastated at losing Jared, and worked tirelessly with Kagami to find his soul. It had been confirmed by Iku that his soul was somewhere, and not gone yet, so now those two and Gina refused to stop looking.

She was brought from her musings when she heard a knock at her door.

"Yeah?"

"Jos, can you let me in." It was Cam, "I have a surprise for you." Joselyn's eyes widened and she cleaned herself up, tying bandages around her torso, and applied a glamor to hide how skinny she had become. While she had always been thin, coming to Blight had filled her out to a healthy weight, but once Jared was gone, she had become underweight and malnourished.

Opening the door, Cam ran in,

"Pack a bag! We're gonna go save Jared!" Joselyn brightened.

"How did you find him?!"

"I didn't." Camille grinned, "Apparently all we had to do was ask Zoe for help. It was dumb to not, because she found ten pieces of Eli's soul in under four months. It took her less than five minutes to locate his soul, and now we're off to go save him."

For the first time in months, Joselyn smiled. After a year, he would finally wake up!

She just hoped Iku wouldn't ruin it.

**A/N: And now they are off to save Jared after a fucking year. And Eli got to kill Douglas again. I would have written down the conversation the two had before that, but that would be rated M. Just know there was taunting, and then Eli summoned a sword and killed the bastard. **

**And as usual, remember to review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Mind, body and soul—the three main ingredients in person-waking. Remember that first one. It's important.**

In the middle of the Blind Eternities, there was a bubble. It wasn't doing anything, it was just floating there. But inside the orb was the little pocket reality Iku had trapped Jared's soul in.

Zoe wrapped a cord around Eli's waist, "Are you sure? I can go down there and get him."

"I'm sure." Eli replied, "I've been in this mess before, remember. And we don't know what Jared's going through down there, so it could be Potion Hell 2, or it could be something extremely dangerous. It's best someone indestructible do it." Kelly put a hand on Zoe's shoulder,

"I had to talk Cam and Joselyn out of it too. Eli is the best bet. Though it is nice the multiverse gave you a break from being thrown under the bus." Eli nodded, and looked down at the bubble before jumped out the trapdoor and into the thing.

…

The last year—not that he knew it had been a year—had been hell for Jared.

Again and again, he watched as he killed the people he cared about. The pain, the screams, the look in Camille's eyes…Joselyn…

Vortex approached Joselyn again. The girl looked like death itself, underfed, dark bags under her eyes, long and baggy clothes.

She didn't fight. She simply walked up to him, and when he stabbed her in the heart with an ice blade, she smiled.

"Thank you."

And so, Roxas killed him again, and he found himself in pitch black, just like he did after every day ended. Iku seemed to do this so he could process what had happened. She also made the number of 'days' per actual day not regulate, so three days for Jared could be one day for everyone else, or vice versa, so there was no way of knowing.

He used to fight, used to see what the real Joselyn was doing, but now he was just alone with nothing but Iku's laughter and occasional taunting for company.

It took a lot to break him. But a year of psychological torture and watching himself murder his family and friends, that was too much, even for him.

So, he just curled into a ball and wept, wanting to be at home with Camille, Kagami, Gina and Joselyn. Hell, he would even work harder as General, if it meant he could go home.

He had tried to keep fighting, but it was just exhausting, and that "Thank you" haunted him, even when he covered his ears and closed his eyes..

"Jared…" Huh? He looked up and saw Eli, "Jared, are you alright?"

Now, part of him wanted to cling to Eli and beg to be set free. But this wasn't the first time Iku had created a hallucination of someone coming to save him, so he was quite sure this wasn't real.

What he didn't expect was for the hallucination to bend down next to him, "It's time to come home." He held out a hand and Jared pondered his options. What did he have to lose from this? Not much really. If this really was a hallucination, he would still be stuck here. If it was real…

He took Eli's hand and there was a bright flash of light, and Jared found himself in the ship…in a jar?

"Hey Jared!" Joselyn beamed. She looked happy, and healthy. She was still wearing baggy clothes, but it looked more out of comfort than anything.

"Why am I in a jar?"

"Because you're just a soul." Zoe explained, "We need to get you to your body."

"How long have I been gone? Did Joselyn start puberty?!" Camille held the jar close,

"Jared…it's been a year. Joselyn will be eleven in a few months." A year. A YEAR?!

"Oh god."

Adrien nodded, "Yeah…Eli had a kid, and you weren't here to stop Zoe from torturing us. You've missed a lot."

"Wait, does this mean I'm currently a floating orb?" Zoe nodded, showing him the reflection of a sea-green glowing orb floating around the jar, "Well I can check that off my bucket list."

Kagami looked at him incredulously, "Why was that on your bucket list?"

"It wasn't. That just seems like a fitting thing to say."

Everyone laughed, and Jared was just relieved that nightmare was over.

OoOoO

_"Into the Woods…Into the Woods and out of the woods and home before dark."_ Zoe sang quietly to herself as they trekked through the woods.

They came across the cave again, only this time, Kelly froze, closing his eyes. He held his hands out to the side. When his eyes opened, they were the same multi-colored phenomenon, and there was a flash of light, and a sword appeared.

The sword overall was an ivory color in varied shades. The shaft began in two from a small heart shape on the end connecting to the handle. The handle bore the design on fully outstretched, upward-pointing angel wings, which surrounded and black garnet heart.

He started floating again, and thrust the blade forward, only for the entire cave to glow, as the stone started realigning into a castle. No really, the fucking landscape was changing, and then they were on a mountain next to other mountains!

"Wow." Gina looked around, "This place is beautiful!"

"Welcome to the North American Guardian Temple." Kelly said, "So shall we go in?"

Joselyn sighed, "I said we'd be back to wake him up before he knew it, and I'm not even close." She smiled a little, "I'm in for an earful." The orb had dimmed not long after they had stopped laughing together, because souls without vessels don't function for very long, so Jared was currently dormant in the jar.

Walking into the castle, they found there were a couple hallways, but there were two sets of stairs that lead to a throne room. Jared was sleeping in the center chair, which seemed to be wooden—or stone that looked like wood—with a rock at the top where a gem should have been.

Camille opened the jar and the soul piece flew at his body. Then both she and Joselyn ran to Jared.

"Jared…" Zoe ruined the moment,

"Wake the fuck up!" Camille glared at her, before looking back at Jared.

"I'm sorry it took so long." Joselyn looked at Jared, who was still sleeping, and shook him,

"Jared, wake up. Open your eyes, please!"

Gina glared, "Why? We got his soul back! Why won't he wake up!?" Kelly came over, placing his hands on Jared's temple,

"Oh no…it's his mind… I need to go in there and pull him out." Kagami raised an eyebrow,

"Huh?"

"Nobody told him the 'Do not fall asleep while locked in your mind' rule. So now I have to literally pull him out. If his soul had been shattered, he would be dead right now." Zoe nodded to herself,

"I remember that…"

"So what do we do?" Adrien asked. Kelly narrowed his eyes,

"I literally just told you." And then Kelly's eyes were glowing, and then he was unconscious on the floor.

"That was a neat trick." The others turned when they saw Millard—or Vita as it had been explained—walk in and towards the throne, "No wonder nobody could find him."

"Well fuck me sideways," Zoe said with a hint of panic in her tone, "Hi."

"Why are you here?" Adrien asked coldly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt your touching reunion." Vita replied, "But surely you won't begrudge me a moment with my sister."

Gina pulled out a gun, "Get the fuck out of here, dude." Vita ignored her and teleported onto the top part of the throne Jared was sleeping on.

"How did he even get here?!" Kagami asked. Vita flicked his wrist and sent them all—not including Joselyn, Jared and Kelly—flying backwards.

"What?!" Joselyn looked around as Vita looked down at Jared,

"So Jared, it seems, wants to keep sleeping." He smirked, "What am I ever going to do with you?"

Joselyn pulled out the dirk Jared had given her, "Shut up!" She jumped up an inhumane height and went for the kill, only for him to summon a blade of his own and block her.

"You better settle down there, sister!" He pushed Joselyn back, and she landed in main section of the room.

"Jos, we'll handle him!" Zoe said, transforming into Heartless.

"No." Joselyn's voice changed to Iku's and she shifted into her white dress and cat mask, "_I'm_ ending this." Then her voice changed to normal Joselyn, "Sorry, but you've seen me too weak, too often. Now it's my turn to shine." She threw her hand up and a barrier appeared around

Camille tried to break the barrier with her magic, but Joselyn is a fucking Worldbender without the assistance of an eternal being that lives inside her and also wants to keep others out—ergo, not even Eli's Zettaflare would get through that shit—and ended up failing, even when the others joined in with their respective powers,

"Joselyn!"

Meanwhile

Kelly blinked a few times, trying to process where he was. He had seen multiple internal paradises before—including his own—but this was different. Eli's had been simplicity and solitude, Harrison's had been a world without the attention, Kelly's had been basically the same as Eli's. But Jared's was completely different. Maybe it was because he actually fell asleep.

It seemed to be a Fourth of July cookout, if the American flags and the fireworks had any say in it. Music played from a couple speakers as well.

"Jared?" He looked around the area for the man, "Where are you?"

"Right here." Kelly turned and saw Jared, only he looked much happier. He was cooking at the barbecue.

"Jared! There you are." He sighed in relief. At least he didn't need to do any searching. Jared looked rather confused,

"Huh? Who are you?" Shit. He had fallen asleep.

The thing with falling asleep in your mind was like Persephone eating the pomegranate. Only instead of just locking you there, it planted fake memories and erased the real ones so the person wouldn't fight. Eli had had Amelia to explain that and Kelly had had Makane, they had gotten to Harry fast enough, but Jared didn't have anyone to warn him, so now he had no memory of his life outside of this.

"Jared, you know me. Kelly." If possible, Jared was even more confused.

"No, I have no idea who you are. Are you okay? Do you have any family I can call?"

"Jared?" A woman came into view. She was about 5'6, with waist length raven hair in a ponytail. She had sea-green eyes identical to Jared's, and judging by her youth, Kelly could guess that this was his mother who had likely died young. When Kelly thought about it, he, Gabriel, Harrison, Sabine and Tom were the longest lasting parents. Of course Jared's mother was here.

Jared turned, "Mom, do you know Kelly?" Kiera—thank you mind powers—looked skeptical.

"No." Kelly huffed,

"Jared, you're not going to believe me, and normally I would be more gentle, but we don't have much time. I know, it sounds crazy, but you need to wake up!"

"Wake up?" Jared backed up a little, "Look, you need help. Cam! Can you call the police?" Kelly frowned at the sight of Camille. She wasn't dead, so how was she here? Maybe Jared's mind was trying harder to keep him in. Kelly's eyes went to the rainbow color and Cam blinked from existence.

"CAM!?" All confusion was gone and fear in its place. Kelly simply gestured to the table where the food was, and Jared sat down with Kiera.

"She's not dead." He replied, "Camille is alive. That wasn't the real Camille."

"What? Oh course that was Camille! Bring her back!" Kelly crossed his arms. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"What is the first thing you remember from one year ago?"

Kiera answered this time, "He woke up from a coma after a car accident." Kelly pursed his lips,

"See Jared, when you 'woke up' from a coma, you actually fell into one. You've been here for a year, and because you fell asleep like someone who doesn't know the rules would you forgot your life before this." He flicked his wrist and Kiera vanished too, "I am a Mage with power over the mind."

"Okay. I'll humor you." Jared was clearly bitter about this, "And you bring my mother and Camille back if I don't believe you." They shook hands, and Jared gestured to Kelly,

"What is my connection to you? How did we meet?"

"We met on a world called Blight. My daughter was looking for the soul fragment of her fiancé, and you thought we were working for a villain called Ladybug—and you attacked us with your own superhero persona, Goreclaw. After I killed Ladybug and Zoe, my eldest, saved your life, you agreed to help us. A year later, you took my youngest, Joselyn, back to Blight to help her control her powers. But something went wrong and you fell into a coma."

"Okay…" He nodded to himself, "So I take it I never got a PhD."

"Not to my knowledge, and I know literally everything about you."

Jared pondered this for a moment, before looking up again, "What about Cam and my parents?" Kelly hesitated there. He knew that telling Jared the truth about that could be a serious problem, because Jared needed to come willingly.

"Camille is alive, very sad since you were lost, but she's otherwise well. Your parents…" he hesitated, "What do you remember of your eighth birthday?"

"We had dinner and went to an arcade. Nothing out of the ordinary. Why?"

"Well…before you got to the arcade, your family was attacked. Your father was killed and your mother slipped into a coma from severe head trauma. This was the day you discovered your power called Totem Armor."

Jared scrambled out of his seat and then was standing,

"So you're telling me you want me to 'wake up' into a reality where my parents are dead?! Thanks but no thanks."

"So you believe me?" Jared turned,

"Sadly, I have no reason not to, because you've demonstrated having supernatural abilities. But no, being my mother and Camille back. I'm staying here. My family is here, so I have no plans of leaving!"

"Jared, please." Now, everyone saw Kelly as a goofball, a child in a grown man's body, so very few had seen the vulnerable side with wet eyes and a desperate, pained tone. Behind that cheerful facade was a man who had lost everything except for a select few people, a depressed man who just wanted a little peace with his family, "If not for me, then for Joselyn."

"Your daughter." He frowned, "Why would I do anything for _your_ daughter?"

"She adores you, Jared!" Kelly actually let tears fall, "And she blames herself for what happened to you. I've tried to play the role of father, but nobody has understood her like you do. In her almost eleven years of living, she was happiest when with you! You, Jared Brock! I would drag you out of here myself if the rules let me, but I can't. So you have to agree to come with me."

Jared sighed, "I'm sorry. Maybe if I knew who she was, I would reconsider, but I have no idea who you're talking about. So I am going to stay here. It sounds like I'm better off here and not dragged into your mess anyways." That was it! He was a fucking mind mage! He could make that happen.

"Jared, I'm sorry I have to do this, but you've given me no choice." He grabbed Jared's hands and forced his real memories into him. He was going to get nowhere with someone without his memories, but maybe if he did have his memories…

Jared screamed as the memories went back to their rightful owner, before he opened his eyes,

"Kelly!" He got up, "Joselyn, is she okay?" Oh thank the gods it worked.

"Let's check." He created a ball in his hand with that was going on in the real world, only to see Joselyn fighting Vita.

Vita threw a fireball at the shield near Jared's body, and Joselyn threw herself at the second fireball, crumpling to the ground and landing on her back. Vita walked up to her and held his sword above her, ready to bring it down and end her life.

Jared's hand went to his newfound knife, "I have to wake up!" Kelly nodded,

"That's right, get out there and backhand bitch-slap Vita in his stupid face. Then Iku."

…

"JOSELYN!" Camille and Zoe used their powers together to try breaking the barrier. Why she blocked that fireball with her face was a mystery, but she did, and now Vita was about to kill her!

Just as Vita started bringing his sword down on her, he hesitated as a bright light erupted from the throne Jared was sleeping in. The light got brighter until a beam of it broke through the barrier and Goreclaw launched himself at Vita, knives at the ready.

"Joselyn!" He hovered in midair as his knives connected with Vita's swords, his eyes the same rainbow color as Kelly's were when using his powers, before overpowering his opponent and standing protectively in front of Joselyn as the entire barrier shattered.

The others ran to them. Zoe went to check on her awakening father with Adrien, while the others ran to Jared and Joselyn, ready to kill the bastard, only for Vita to dramatically leap into the air and backflip, towards to stair exit.

"This number is more than I care to face, but now that my sister is awake once more," he gestured to Joselyn, "I'm just certain that she'll come to visit." Then he vanished, and Zoe gave his retreating form the finger,

"That's right, you better run, bitch!"

Goreclaw detransformed and bent down to support Joselyn's limp form, "Joselyn, are you alright?" He shook her gently and she opened her blue-violet eyes, looking up at him in awe.

"Jared…is it you?" He nodded,

"Yeah. It's me, kiddo." Camille was crying with pure joy. Jared was awake after all this time.

"You're here…" Gina lunged into a hug,

"Jared!" Kagami joined, and then the little family was in a group hug with tears all around.

Zoe, Kelly, and Adrien felt a little put out not being invited into the hug. So Zoe, being the evil bitch she was, decided to ruin the adorable moment after her Dad took a picture,

"Only in this universe can someone be in a coma while sitting on an uncomfortable-looking chair for a year without suffering muscle atrophy and immediately be ready for combat." Everyone in the group hug gave her the finger at the same time.

Adrien smacked her arm, "Shut up Zoe, you're ruining the moment." She sent him a dirty look and the memory of Punishment Time appeared in the Fae youth's head, so he wisely shut up.

"Come on." Jared picked up Joselyn as the young girl grinned, "Let's go home. And you all are in for an earful about how it took a fucking _year_ to wake me up."

OoOoO

They decided to stop at the mansion first, so everyone else knew Jared was awake.

But what happened was not in any way expected.

They walked in the door, and the excited chatter made Jared's eyes light up with the rainbows again…

And then Gabriel had stripped and was doing the hokey pokey.

"…." Everyone was stunned into silence. Kelly was taking a video for the YouTube channel. Jared was extremely confused,

"Huh?" Kelly turned,

"Jared…try willing him to put pants back on with your mind…"

"What?"

"Just do it."

Jared thought about forcing Gabriel to stop, and then he stopped. Everyone looked to Jared.

"Um…" Kagami crossed her arms, "Jared, is there something you're not telling us?" Amelia groaned,

"Kels, did you put him in _that_ room?!" Kelly nodded worriedly,

"Oops. I think I did."

"What? What room?" Harrison pulled out a book,

"Each Guardian Temple has a special crystal full of powers. The Black Garnet was in Tibet, and the Peridot was in North America. Mia and I put Kelly in there when he was so sick he ended up in a coma, and that's how he got his mind powers. Note, Kelly was in there for three months while you were there for close to a year. See where I'm going with this?" Jared looked down at his hands,

"I have—?! WHAT?!"

Kelly bit his lip, "Only one way to be sure. Everyone, think a lot of things." So they did. Jared let out a choked scream before collapsing.

"Jared?!" Gina bent down by his side, "What did you do?!"

"He has powers." Kelly muttered, "So now he needs to learn control, otherwise he'll overload and pass out. I know from experience." He picked Jared up, "Sooner we get him some alone time, the sooner he'll wake up. Back to Blight we go." He sighed, "This is gonna be interesting."

OoOoO

Jared woke up in his own bed, and immediately noticed Kelly was sitting bedside.

"Kelly? What happened?" Last thing he remembered was something about Gabriel stripping. It was kind of fuzzy.

"You showed that you have powers, but to test it I had everyone think, and that caused your brain to overload and you passed out." That sounded vaguely familiar…

"So I can't be around people?" He sat up, "How do you do it?"

"Practice. Years and years of practice." Kelly replied, "Didn't take long to figure out how to now overload, but the whole not-fucking-with-people's-minds thing was difficult. So I'm staying on Blight until we're sure you won't kill someone with your powers. This mainly involves hours of drawing lessons." Jared groaned loudly,

"Great. So not only do I have the memories of my mind and soul, I also have to be taught by a child how to draw. I'm gonna need scotch for this."

"You still have your memories?"

Jared winced. The memories of Iku's torment was one of the main things on his mind, as well as the option of the normal life he could have had. But this was his life, a happy medium between the two. It wasn't so bad.

"I thought I locked those memories…" Jared crossed his arms,

"Maybe because I have your powers now. Can't you just get rid of these powers?" He didn't want to admit it, but the idea of being able to kill his loved ones with a thought scared him. So unless Kelly could get rid of the powers, he had to deal with the older mage to control it. He was also dealing with all the things people had been thinking about which made him pass out. Punishment Time was the one that scared him. Don't fuck with Eli lest Zoe hurt you.

Kelly, to Jared's visible dismay, shook his head, "Nope. I tried for years. Once you have it, there is no going back."

They were interrupt by a knock at the door and Gizmo came it was an envelope.

"Good. You're awake." She grinned in an un-Gizmo-like manner, "Joselyn asked me to give this to you. She said it was for you and only you, at least until tomorrow." Jared took the envelope and Gizmo walked out of the room with a skip in her step.

Kelly looked at the envelope as Jared opened it, reading the note inside.

_To the man who adopted a helpless child when she was brought to him. To the one true friend, whose caring was the only thing that prevented this even from happening sooner,_

_I am leaving a world to which I never truly belonged or fit in. Do not weep for me, or mourn my passing. I say this not because I expect to be missed, but to allow those who truly did not care go on with their lives with a clean conscience and dry eyes. I know you don't want to weep for me. So don't. But I do ask you to listen to the final words of a young girl who has taken charge of her own destiny. _

_Perhaps my father and sisters might feel something inside which causes them to shed tears. They may pretend that it's sorrow for their "loss", but I hope it is something else. Perhaps sorrow for bringing a child into this world when they really didn't have the time or desire to raise her._

_I can only think of one person in this world who might be sad at my parting. Jared, my big brother. That is why I did not tell you anything until now, and why I do this in secret, alone. Wherever I go, yours will be the one face I carry with me. The one soul I will miss. Yours is the only forgiveness I ask and beg for as I depart from this life. I love you, and always will._

_Farewell forever. I am going to another place. Where, I do not know. Perhaps my passing will only prove a footnote in the insanity that is our lives. Then again, perhaps the sacrifice of one might bring hope to others. If Iku dies with me, do I really die in vain? _

_\- Joselyn._

Jared read over the letter one more time before jumping out of bed and sprinting down the hall. Kelly read over the note before running after him.

"Joselyn!" He ran to her door and found it locked. Pounding on the door, he didn't get any response, "Open up!" It was less than a second before he rammed into the door and broke it off it's hinges.

He could swear his heart stopped beating for a moment.

On the floor at the foot of a broken mirror was Joselyn, with a scalpel in her hand and blood spilling from her throat.

He ran to her side and ripped off his jacket, using it to apply pressure to her wound. She was breathing, just barely, but she was breathing. And the glamor melted away, revealing how underfed and exhausted she was. And that healthy tan she had had had before he fell asleep was death pale, even before the severe blood loss.

Camille ran in as well, "Jared?! Kelly just told me what happened!" Jared looked up at his girlfriend. He wanted to be mad at her for not seeing this, but even Kelly hadn't suspected anything, so he had a feeling she genuinely had no idea.

"Call the medics. NOW!"

**A/N: So Jared is awake and has powers. And Joselyn has decided to kill herself. Yay…**

**Remember to review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Waiting**

Kagami ran in with a stretcher and rushed Joselyn to to hospital ward with Jared running behind. As the minutes passed, the dread was knotting up in his stomach, so he had to be sure Joselyn would live.

As Kagami fixed Joselyn's throat, Jared's thoughts were running rampant. Joselyn had tried to commit suicide. She did it to kill Iku. Why though? Was it because of what happened to him? He clenched his fist a little. He had missed so much, so there wasn't anywhere for him to start this puzzle.

He held Joselyn just a little tighter as Kagami worked, as if doing so could reverse everything that had happened. He would do anything if it meant that...that Joselyn hadn't done… _this_. This wasn't... it shouldn't have happened. How could Joselyn have been that unhappy?

Jared watched as Gizmo gently cleaned the rest of the dried blood from Joselyn's throat and then changed her shirt, and felt his heart stutter when he realized there was a word carved into the skin. The word MONSTER.

"What is _that_!?" His voice was strangled, as if he didn't have enough air left to say those words. And maybe he didn't. Nothing was right anymore. He was vaguely aware of Kelly leaving the room, hands clenched in his brown-black hair, as if suddenly unable to take any more. Jared might have joined him, but Joselyn's dead—no, just weight—but Joselyn's _weight_ was resting against him, and he couldn't bear the thought of letting go.

"Kagami?" Tears obscured Jared's vision, and he couldn't wipe them away without moving his arms from where they held Joselyn against him. The tears fell down his cheeks. "Gizmo... why? What does this mean?" His voice cracked, but he couldn't care less about that.

Gizmo shook her head, and Jared saw, with some shock, tears glimmering in the apathetic girl's eyes. Sure, he knew Joselyn was Gizmo's first friend other than MurderBot, but he'd never seen the girl cry before. Jared looked up towards where Camille was still standing against the door frame, as if the wood was all that was keeping her upright. Joselyn had affected so many lives, not just his life, so seeing her like this was painful on all of them, whether she knew it or not.

"Jared?" Kagami's voice brought Jared out of his thoughts, and, looking down, he noticed that she was done treating the wound, which looked a lot more manageable when covered in white cloth. "We should move her."

Jared nodded and stood, slipping a hand under Joselyn's knees and arms, hoisting the her up so as to carry her back to her own room. He placed Joselyn on her bed, and noticed Kelly standing in the corner, arms resolutely folded and jaw locked so as not to cry. But it seemed Jared wasn't the only one unable to hold back tears. There were still bloodstains on the floor and glass shards from the once again broken mirror. They really needed to remove the mirrors in there.

Kagami and Gizmo followed Jared, and once Joselyn was on the bed, they busied about their younger friend, checking her pulse and hooking her up to various machines. There was relative silence for a few moments, Jared's mind too exhausted to do much more thinking. Zoe would have a field day with that. Kelly and Camille were still standing silently, either lost in their own thoughts, or in the struggle to hold back tears. Jared wasn't sure which. They probably would have stayed that way for a while, had a knock not come at the door then, the sound making Kelly jump a little, startled.

Jared watched the older mage open the door a little ways, speaking with whoever was outside briefly before letting them through. It was Zoe. The Worldbender's face was set in apprehension, leading Jared to guess that Kelly had told her something bad had happened. When she saw Joselyn, saw the bandages all along Joselyn's throat, the pale skin, the blood that still soaked the girl's old clothes, her eyes widened and Jared knew she knew what had happened. Zoe clamped a hand to her mouth, but still a strangled sound escaped her. She closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head slightly before forcing words from a locked jaw.

"Gina's looking for you. You might want to go find her before she finds this…" She trailed off and leaned heavily against the wall. Kelly clapped Zoe on the shoulder, then moving to put a hand on Jared's shoulder, steering him out the door.

As soon as the door closed, both men leaned against the wall, letting out long breaths. "What...?" Jared croaked.

"Best not to dwell on any of that now," Kelly said. "Think of this as a mission. A quest to tell Gina and not… well... scare her."

"That seems as good a plan as any," Jared agreed, and pushed himself off the wall to walk down the hall, hopefully in the direction of Gina.

Five minutes later

They found Gina leaving Jared's room, a look of annoyance on her face. Kelly didn't want to tell her what had happened, because really, he was still processing it himself. Not only would telling her scare her, but it would make it real. A large part of him was still hoping feverishly that this was some messed-up dream that he'd wake up from momentarily.

"Jared! Where've you been?" Gina asked. "Dinner's getting cold." Then she asked a question that made Kelly's blood run cold. "Where's Joselyn?"

Jared makes a kind of choking noise, like the words were stuck halfway up his throat, but Kelly makes no noise because he didn't have the air to support it. He felt like he'd just hit a brick wall.

"What happened?" Gina asked quietly, her voice low, almost pleading.

Something in Kelly's mind must have been working, because he got them all into Jared's room. Better to say this kind of thing in private. "Something... happened Gina," Jared said, and Gina sat in a strait-backed chair. Jared walked over to her, sinking into a chair himself. Kelly leaned against one of the bedposts.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Joselyn's been hurt... she lost a lot of blood. Kagami and Gizmo are treating her now..." he trailed off, running his hand over his eyes. "It's bad, Gina. Really bad."

"How was she hurt?" Gina asked, but she didn't seem worried whatsoever—Kelly actually noticed she sounded a little giddy. Jared looks to Kelly now, a slight panic in his features. How were they going to tell Gina what their friend had done to herself?

"Jared," Gina's voice held a grain of warning, and Jared's hand twitched toward his throat. Gina's eyes widened, and she smiled. Jared glared,

"What did you do?"

Cue the loudest argument fucking ever. Kelly was busy trying to keep Jared's powers in check lest someone—or everyone—died a horrible death.

Turned out Gina didn't feel bad about Joselyn's suicide attempt at all, and was even a little excited. And while Kelly knew the real reason why that not even Gina herself knew, he was still furious.

Jared stormed off, followed by Kelly. And they both ran back to Joselyn's room.

When they reached Joselyn's room, Jared let out a pained cry. Joselyn lay, pale as she had been when the two young men had left a few minutes ago. Camille had Zoe in a hug, and Kelly watched as Jared pulled up a chair to sit beside Joselyn. "How is she?" Jared asked Kagami, voice rough.

"There's not much more I can do for her," Kagami said quietly. "She's lost a lot of blood, and if she doesn't... if she doesn't fight to live, there's nothing anyone can do for her."

Kelly felt the air leave him again. He turned to look at Zoe, who was white as a ghost. Still, despite the shock on his elder daughter's face, Kelly also noticed that she was thinking. No doubt trying to find a way to make Joselyn live, to force her to fight. And why shouldn't she? Joselyn was family. She really wasn't allowed to just give up. So when Zoe left, Kelly went with her, Jared's quiet sobs still echoing in his mind.

OoOoO

It was a long night. Jared stayed up with Joselyn, encouraging Gizmo to get some sleep when the young girl with the prehensile hair started yawning more frequently. Gizmo had given him a bowl of cold water and a washcloth, along with instructions to wake her if Joselyn got any worse. Which, if he was honest with himself, Jared didn't see as possible. Joselyn's fever had only risen since the others had left, the girl was drenched in sweat, her chest barely rising. The bandages had been changed, and the new dressings were slowly becoming stained with red. Her face flushed red with fever, except where it was almost white from blood loss.

Jared quietly sponged Joselyn's brow, trying to cool her down. She whimpered quietly, and Jared stopped for a moment, hoping for her eyes to open, for just a sliver of blue-violet surrounded by the red eyelids. But nothing happened, and Jared re-soaked the washcloth, wrung it out, and placed it again on Joselyn's sweaty forehead. Taking another cold, wet washcloth, Jared dabbed along his friend's neck. Jared could feel the heat of the skin through the washcloth, the fever rising a little more. A little too much.

Joselyn began gasping, as though she couldn't get enough air, and Jared quickly shook Gizmo awake. The mechanic hurried to her friend's side, instructing Jared to roll her onto her side. Gizmo checked Joselyn's pulse, frowning as she pressed fingers to Joselyn's neck. Jared felt fear flow through him, filling him and obscuring his vision.

"What's wrong?" He choked out once he could talk.

"Her powers should be healing her," Gizmo said, moving quickly to the table still covered in various machines. "But it isn't."

"Meaning?" Jared asked, sitting back down on the chair by the patient bed.

"From what I've observed in the last year, she doesn't know her own powers and relies on Iku's," Gizmo said sadly.

"So Iku won't heal her?" Jared asked, watching as Gizmo flitted around the table, gathering things that... Jared was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

"She will heal Joselyn," Gizmo said absently. "But we need to unlock her. The last time Joselyn was really able to do magic like this while... unconscious, was when she asked to be poisoned, before you woke up."

"You let her poison herself?!"

"She asked," Gizmo replied quietly, slipping into her "depression" mood, "And she is my first friend. She wanted to find a way to wake you up." Jared's mind powers told him there was more to the story, but that was at least part of the truth.

He nodded to himself, turning back to Joselyn, whose breathing had eased slightly with the transition to her side. "Why didn't you do this before now?" He asked, going back to his job of sponging the sweaty skin as Gizmo pulled out a vial Zoe had brought a few hours back.

"I'm not sure how Iku will react," Gizmo said quietly, "This is a kind of last resort. Zoe and Eli made it with Eden's healing powers. Either Iku will heal her, or it will be too much for her to handle." Jared heard what Gizmo was not saying. Either the magic would save Joselyn, or it will kill her.

"Is there nothing else we can do?"

Gizmo shook her head. "There's no time for other things, and if Joselyn has lost the will to live, she's not going to be helping us. We have to encourage Iku to help her."

The half-moon outside the window bathed the windowsill in a mystical light, but the lamps inside the room chased it away, kept the cold light outside. Joselyn's face was cast into sharp relief, her cheekbones sharper and her eyes sunken. She looked almost ghostly, as though she had died and come back. Jared shook that thought from his head. His mind was slow with sleep deprivation and the stress of the day, and it was making him see things. That was all. It was not some crazy premonition. This had nothing to do with his newfound powers.

Gizmo came over, stirring the mixture in a small bowl. She directed Jared to get behind Joselyn, and he did so, propping her up in front of him so his friend's head fell back against his muscular shoulder. Gizmo came forward with the mixture, putting it to Joselyn's lips and tilting it to poor it her mouth. Gizmo gently massaged Joselyn's throat with one hand to get her to swallow, making sure to avoid the stitches, breathing a sigh of relief as the elixir went down.

"This could take a while to take effect," Gizmo said quietly, moving to clean the table, hands shaking with delayed stress.

Jared stayed put for a while, feeling Joselyn's fever through both their shirts. He grabbed a cloth, sponging the back of Joselyn's neck, cold drops chasing the sweat down her neck and under the collar of her soft yet oversized pajama shirt. He winced, remembering how that shirt had been just her size before a growth spurt, yet it was oversized now.

Exhaustion washed over him, and he carefully extricated himself from behind her. Lowering Joselyn slowly back down to the mattress, Jared almost missed the first spark. It was a bright white-blue, and skittered across the bandages before sinking into a sliver of visible pale skin.

"Gizmo," Jared said, and the mechanic turned back towards the bed. "It's working."

Gizmo watched with a critical eye as a few more sparks skittered past the bandages. "We need to remove the bandages," she said. "Iku needs to be able to reach her bare skin." Quickly, Jared helped Gizmo undo the strips of cloth from around Joselyn's throat. The wounds were still leaking beads of bright red blood, and Jared had to look away at the word MONSTER, feeling the need to vomit, or punch something. _Hard_. He decided he would choose that option later.

The sparks came more freely now, streaming from pale, slender fingers and sinking into her throat, stitching the skin together. The skin was regenerating as Gizmo and Jared watched with baited breath. It would scar, and Jared knew if he decided to spar the next day, he'd be rather hard on the person that went against him at the thought of the word MONSTER permanently carved into little sister's arm.

But all of that was pushed to the back of his mind about an hour later as the sun began to rise, and Joselyn's chest was still rising and falling.

It was morning, and Joselyn was still alive.

OoOoO

Kelly was woken in the morning by Zoe. He groaned, turning over as his daughter started shaking him. For a moment, Kelly wondered where Joselyn was. Then it hit him. "Oh God, Zoe, Joselyn," he gasped. And suddenly he could barely breathe. He had no idea how he had fallen asleep last night, because the fear was squeezing his heart so hard it hurt.

"Joselyn's alive, Dad." Zoe said, kissing him lightly on the forehead as he stood up from the bed. "Cam went to check earlier this morning. Jared said there was a scare at some point during the night, but Joselyn pulled out of it fine." Kelly was only half-listening from behind the changing screen, but froze in the act of tugging his shirt on over his head when Zoe spoke again. "Gizmo says she's not out of danger yet, though. And she still hasn't woken up yet." He pulled the plaid fabric down roughly, walking from behind the screen to look at Zoe.

"What does 'not out of danger' mean?" She shrugged, but Kelly could see the worry in her eyes even without reading her mind. They hadn't told Eden of this yet, because she was already delicate enough.

"I don't know," she said, "But Dad... I'm afraid." Kelly embraced her quickly, pressing her into him, taking some comfort in her closeness, and hopefully offering some in return. His own heart was thudding in his chest, and it was all he could do not to sprint strait to the Joselyn's room.

"Come on dude, let's go check on him," he said quietly, leading her towards the doors.

"Without breakfast?" She asked quietly.

"Not hungry."

As they walked, Kelly's thoughts were running rampant. How the hell hadn't he seen this?! It was just like how he hadn't known the Darkling Maeve was abusing Zoe. He was a fucking mind mage! He should have been the first to know and was actually one of the last.

In the recesses of his mind, he knew it wasn't really his fault for either. Stupid mental shields. Maeve had asked to learn them back when they were first married, when reading her thoughts showed nothing but love for their daughter, so her using mental shields wasn't suspicious. Joselyn, he had assumed, kept them up for the same reason as Adrien: avoiding pranks. And her being tired was a normal thing with grief because Jared had been sleeping for months.

But still…he had been able to stop Zoe when she got too suicidal. She too had learned mental shields, but self-harm was not what she was focused on hiding, so he stopped her more times than one. He gave her all the love he could and even quit jobs so he could spend more time with her, not wanting to come home and hear she was dead.

But _why_ couldn't he have stopped Joselyn?

It would be one thing if nobody had known, and nobody could have stopped it. But people had known, and didn't stop it. Gizmo didn't stop it because she was a scientist at heart, so she allowed the dangerous experiments. But Gina had downright hoped Joselyn would die. That was the difference, Gizmo was willing but would have stopped if Joselyn was dying, while Gina would have simply pushed harder. Having read both their minds, he learned that Gizmo was dangerously apathetic, and most emotions were a facade, but her feeling for Joselyn were genuine and the young girl was just as afraid of them as anyone would be if they felt emotion for the first time.

With Gina, he would under normal circumstances make her life a living hell, but she was heartbroken at how Jared had basically ended their friendship and stormed off. Kelly was sadistic, yeah, all the shit he did to Gabriel was proof of that, but not cruel. There was a fine line, but there was a line.

If Joselyn died, he would gladly cross that line. Nobody hurt his daughters—or worse let them die—and got away with it. The only reason Gabriel was only the victim of many pranks and not suffering was because he had had a chance to kill Zoe, when she was in a coma on life support, he could have pulled the plug, but he didn't.

They arrived in Joselyn's room after a minute or so, and Kelly suddenly found the fear welling up again. What if something bad had happened since Zoe had been told Joselyn was alright? What if she wasn't alright anymore? What if… what if… what if…

It was Camille who opened the door. She looked a little shell-shocked, the skin around her eyes tight and red. Silently, she let them into the room.

Jared was sitting against one wall, looking like he had dozed off there a few moments ago, and Gizmo was looking through some books with MurderBot. Joselyn was still laying on the bed. She looked no different than the day before, and it took Kelly a moment after he had sat down to notice the bandages were gone, the skin crossed in white scars. "What?" he asked quietly, "How did they heal so quickly?"

"Used that elixir Zoe and Eli made." Gizmo replied, without looking up from her books. Zoe ran her fingers across Joselyn's pale arms, tracing the scars that stood out there. One particular pattern stood out to Kelly. "Will these scars ever fade?" He asked, his voice suddenly hoarse and breaking. He was afraid, so very afraid. _Please_, he thought, _please say they will._

"I'm afraid they will not," Gizmo said sadly, still resolutely facing the books, though Kelly had eyes only for the word carved into Joselyn's arm. He wanted to break down at the thought of that word being there forever, a constant reminder of the suffering he failed to prevent.

Camille had leaned against one wall, eyes trained on Joselyn's pale, unmoving face. "You'll call for me, if anything changes?" He asked hoarsely. Gizmo nodded absently, setting aside the book she had been looking at for a moment, before picking up another.

Kelly didn't know how long he sat there... it was a long time, he supposed, because at some point Zoe had gone to work with a gentle squeeze of his shoulder. Joselyn was alive, which was good. The wounds had healed quickly, which was also good. But she still wasn't awake, and something about that scared him. He didn't want any of this to continue.

He also knew Jared was shirking his duties as Blight General—though really, if not being around for a year hadn't gotten him demoted or fired, nothing would—but he just couldn't bring himself to care. Joselyn would want them both to be responsible, he knew this, but Joselyn couldn't tell them that, could she? Kelly would gladly hear everything she had to say on the matter, if she would just. Wake. Up!

Jared woke sometime after lunch, doing so silently, leaving to go destroy some unsuspecting punching bag. At that point, Kelly was staring fixedly at the wall, thumb idly stroking the back of Joselyn's hand, the only unscarred part of his youngest daughter he could reach easily.

"He'll be alright," Kagami said from behind him, making Kelly jump. He didn't mean to snarl back the way he did, he really didn't. But he just couldn't help it.

"You call this alright?" He growled, gesturing towards Joselyn. Toward the word carved into her arm, the other scars on her body, and the most recent one across her throat. "What made her do this? Not something that has disappeared in the last day!"

"Maybe if you ask, she'll tell you when she wakes up," Kagami said. "You know, I've heard that unconscious people can still sometimes hear people they care about if those people speak to them. Joselyn's really upset, maybe if you spoke to her…"

"There's always been more to her," Kelly said quietly. He didn't even understand why he was being quiet, as if Joselyn might overhear. "I promised that this time would be different. I wouldn't let her get hurt like her sisters were. I would always be there." He gave a bitter laugh. "I'm not really living up to that right now."

"You're giving it your best shot," Kagami said, looking down at Joselyn. "And she asks no more from you than that."

OoOoO

Two days had passed and Jared was restless.

It turned out, not only did he have Kelly's powers, he also had all sorts of psychic abilities, including but not limited to telekineses, force fields and the seer ability. And then there were nightmares of his time being tortured by Iku, and terror for Joselyn, and rage at Gina.

To say the least, the last few days had sucked. Many punching bags had been destroyed.

Right now, he was sitting at Joselyn's bedside. He didn't really want to be anywhere else. He needed answers. If she had been so unhappy, why did she wait until he woke up to attempt suicide? Did Iku take control of Joselyn and fake the whole thing—words did not describe how much he prayed for that to be the case—so they thought Joselyn was suicidal when she wasn't?

He was brought from his worried musings when he noticed the vase of flowers Adrien had brought was floating around the room. It wasn't doing much, just floating there. He wasn't great at controlling that power, so he just left it be. Last time he _tried_ to make something move, it shattered and made a mess.

He jerked to look at the bed when he heard Joselyn making tiny noises. At first, he worried her fever was getting worse or she was dying, but the machines were still working and saying her heartbeat was relatively normal.

"Joselyn?" She was twitching a little. Was it happening. He turned and ran to the door, "Gizmo! I think she's waking up!" Gizmo ran in and both beamed when they were staring into a pair of blue-violet eyes.

…

The first thing Joselyn saw once her eyes adjusted to the light was Jared's worried face. The next was Gizmo. She blinked, more than a little concerned to see the normally emotionless mechanic so concerned.

"I'm dead," Joselyn said with a certainty. Her voice hurt, rasping against her dry throat. "I must be dead, I think I died and went to… somewhere." That was as far as she got before Jared lunged at her. She let out a squeak as Jared's arms encircled her chest. She was so surprised, she almost didn't hear what he was saying frantically into her ear.

"Never again, Joselyn. Don't do that ever again. I couldn't take it. Never again," he repeated the words, and Joselyn awkwardly patted his back. There was something comforting though, in being held like this. Like she mattered. Like someone cared.

Almost as if Jared had heard her thoughts, he pulled back, holding Joselyn at arm's length to search her face with his now dark-blue eyes—the same color her Dad's eyes became when sad. "Why?" he asked, "Why did you do it, Joselyn?" tears fell slowly down Jared's face, and his voice broke at the end of his question. Wait…tears? Jared was crying!? Then the question itself registered in Joselyn's over-active brain.

Shrinking back, she shook her head vigorously. She couldn't tell Jared. She couldn't! He would hate her forever. He would kill her. Joselyn knew she couldn't stand that; she wouldn't mind dying—as long as she took Iku with her—but she would sooner do just about anything than have Jared hate her.

The worry visible on Jared's face skyrocketed. Zoe put a hand on Jared's shoulder, tugging him gently back as another face near-filled Joselyn's vision. Gizmo.

She wanted to ask why she was here, why she wasn't dead. But her mouth was dry as a reed, as if she'd eaten sand. Gizmo's hand felt at her forehead and her neck, blessedly cool against skin she hadn't noticed was sweating. "He'll understand." She murmured, so quietly that Joselyn barely heard her, despite the fact her mouth couldn't have been four inches from her ear as she lowered her so she was laying on her back again. Wordlessly, because she didn't trust herself to speak, Joselyn shook her head. Gizmo sighed.

"Now's the best time of any," she said quietly. "Jared would do anything in this moment to keep you safe. No matter what." Joselyn doubted this. Jared should be hating her guts for what Iku had done to him, like how Gina hated her. Why should this have changed in the amount of time she'd been unconscious? _Well, you seem to have almost bled to death_, came a voice, unbidden, from the back of her mind.

"He's gonna find out eventually, whether you tell him or not," Gizmo said quietly. "Actually, your note told a lot of the story. Depression and desire to kill the demon inside you. That same demon that saved your life." She had a damp washcloth and was wiping the sweat from her face. She motioned for something, taking a cup from someone just out of Joselyn's line of sight.

Jared's face was suddenly next to Gizmo's, taking the washcloth from her as she helped Joselyn drink. The water felt wonderful sliding down her sore throat.

"Hey, Jos, don't worry," Jared said, pressing the washcloth to her forehead, above her terrified eyes. "Killing Iku…that makes sense. Just wish you had told me there were other things bothering you rather than, well, this." Jared gestured to Joselyn's throat and left arm, and, with shaking fingers, Joselyn tugged her sleeve up to expose the scars. The word MONSTER was etched by a shaky hand into the pale skin. Then Kelly joined the others in sitting on the bed.

"You knew you could have come to me," he said quietly as Gizmo took the washcloth back from Jared, dropping it back into a bowl of water and wringing it out. The splashing water permeated the silence following Kelly's plea. "Why didn't you come to me?"

"There was no reason to burden you with my problems," Joselyn said, just as quietly. The tired slump of his father's shoulders told Joselyn that the man had not slept for at least two days. Or at least not well.

"If it was reason enough to do this, it was reason enough to talk with me," Kelly said. Joselyn looked away. She hated disappointing people, but all the same, that seemed to be what she did on a daily basis.

"We're not blaming you Joselyn," Gizmo said quietly, sponging Joselyn's brow again. "We're simply telling you we're here." She sighed, "Your fever is getting worse. I'll wait until Kagami gets back, I think, before I try anything."

"I'll go find her. I think she's in the library," Kelly said, stepping away from the bed. Joselyn watched the her father lay a hand on Jared's shoulder before leaving. The door shut heavily behind him. Gizmo sighed, looking after Kelly.

Zoe came over from where she was leaning in the doorway, "Joselyn, we're going to help you get Iku out, but you have to promise to not pull anything like this again."

Joselyn cracked a reluctant smile, "I promise." But she had to fight back tears when she heard Iku in her head.

_"__You should have gone for the head."_

**A/N: Joselyn lives! And Iku is being extra evil. Next chapter goes over reasonable methods of getting Iku out, and Kelly giving Jared lessons on how to use his powers. Hilarity will ensue.**

**And as usual, remember to review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Another day, another quest**

It was about a week before Joselyn was well enough to go back to the mansion. Jared was very protective of her—hell, he and Gina weren't talking anymore—and was always around. She felt bad for scaring him so badly, but she was annoyed that he had taken off the lock on her door and took away the knives. He let her know why he did that and he would return the items when it was safe to do so.

This was the first time she was alone all week. What Iku had said was still ringing in her head. The head… She had promised to not kill herself again, but that taunt just kept coming back.

Gina was being nice to her. But it wasn't "I'm sorry for assisting in your suicidal thoughts." and more, "You little bitch, why couldn't you have died? I'm just being nice so Jared will talk to me again." Not that trying really helped when being 'nice' around someone who could read your fucking mind. And the fact Jared could do that at random helped nobody.

Zoe came in, bouncing Danielle while carrying her, "Hey Jos. How're ya doing?" God, Joselyn detested that question. She heard it every damn hour from someone. The only difference with Zoe was that she said it casually like she would anyone else. She understood the pain of being asked that question all the time, so she didn't treat her youngest sister any differently.

"I'm okay." Never ever say fine, that puts up all the warning flags for family. But she'd be lying if she said she was good.

Zoe set Danielle down in the high chair and started feeding her, and Joselyn noted the baby's hair was a dark white—not quite grey, but was on the darker end of white—which is something she much have inherited from Eli after the "_Frozen_ Incident," because genetics made the odds of the kid having white hair without a mutation were impossible.

"Need to talk?" And there it was. She groaned as she went to the fridge for some of the leftover chicken, putting it in the microwave.

"I'd really appreciate it if we could talk about other things. I just want to get my mind off it." Zoe's brow furrowed,

"I didn't mean like that, just like how your day was going. I'm not going to ignore what happened, but speaking as someone who did the same thing, I know how annoying it is to be hovered over and I know full well how irritating it is to talk about it." That got Joselyn's attention.

"You attempted suicide?" Zoe nodded,

"I'm not proud of it. But I did."

"Why?" Danielle was too busy playing with some Jell-o to care what her mother and aunt were talking about, so Zoe decided to explain,

"As you know, I was abused by Regina who turned Mom into a Darkling." Joselyn nodded, already captured by the tale, "Well, when I was eight, the Darkling shot me."

"WHAT?!"

Zoe nodded to herself, "Yeah. Not long after, Dad wiped my memory of my powers and locked them away. But the abuse still remained. I was eleven when I couldn't take it anymore and drank a thing of bleach—which for the record, I don't recommend, it tastes foul—because from my perspective, she hated me for no reason. I didn't have my powers and didn't even remember them, so it made no sense. Eden found me right before I died and called the hospital. When I woke up, Dad, Eden, and Sam were there by my side. That was when Sam learned exactly how bad the abuse was. Dad quit most of his jobs so he could spend more time with me, and also erased that memory from Eden."

"Does anyone else know?" Zoe froze.

"Eli. He's my mate, so obviously he knows. Adrien knows as well. Though nobody else other than Dad and Sam know. But my point is, no matter how hopeless life may seem, there is a light at the end of this fucked up tunnel. And if that isn't motivation, just think of the look on Iku's face when you outlive her." Joselyn giggled while imagining that.

"I wish I could make that the screensaver on my phone." Zoe laughed, showing her home screen was a sleeping Gabriel as a drag queen from that time she drugged him.

"I've done that. It makes me smile whenever I feel down." She put her hand on her younger sister's, "I'm here for you, Jos. Remember that you can always talk to me if you want to. We are sisters after all." Joselyn smiled genuinely for the first time all week,

"Thanks, sis."

OoOoO

"Jared, hello? Quantic world to Jared Brock. Stop thinking of _the Gummi Bears_. If you don't, Disney will hunt us down with their copyright laws." Jared snapped out of his thoughts when Kelly snapped in his face.

"Wha…oh…I guess I was just bored at what we're doing." Apparently Ultimate Mind Powers also meant hours upon hours of drawing lessons. And it wasn't just doodling, no, it was like fucking manga. It was a real pain in the ass when he had so many other things he would rather be doing. Such as keeping an eye on Joselyn.

_Why didn't she tell me she was feeling like this? Was there more I could have done? I'm sorry you've been feeling so awful, Joselyn. I'm so glad you're still here. I want to help you. Tell me what I can do to support you._

"That's bullshit. Namely because you finally got the hang of it, and you also went into a trance like I do." Jared looked at the sketchbook and was shocked to find perfect drawings in there…all of which were of Joselyn or Camille.

Kelly sat down in another of the chairs, "What's wrong? Kudos on your mental shields, otherwise I would find out on my own."

"What makes you think anything is wrong?" Kelly rolled his eyes and held up a mirror, and Jared was shocked to see his normally sea-green eyes were dark blue, and he also had tear tracks on his cheeks.

"You're like me, Jared. Your eyes can't lie. Which really sucks when gambling or doing anything undercover related. And you will also be more in touch with your emotions."

"Well there goes my poker face." Kelly nodded,

"You get used to it. But on the bright side, if I suddenly turn into a deranged psycho trying to avenge the death of my family, I can't trick you into thinking I'm calm."

"Do I want to know where that example came from?"

"I went browsing on Harry's magic tablet and took a look at some other timelines." The look on Kelly's face told Jared it was wise to not ask for details. The elder mage then perked up, "Is it Joselyn? Is that what's wrong? I sent Zoe to go talk to her and apparently that worked pretty well."

"Good." He sighed, "I just…need her to be okay. I've lost people, and I don't think I could take it if I added her to the list. She's too young." The two moved to the couch and Kelly poured some hot cocoa—note: never trust hot cocoa given to you by a Carpenter.

Recipe of the family hot cocoa: Chocolate, whipped cream, five sleeping pills, and some cinnamon. Yeah, there were specifics in types of chocolate and shit, but that was the nutshell of it.

"Does that have anything to do with why you aren't sleeping?" Another fun thing about sleeping pills, they make people looser mouthed.

"Meh. Nightmares and visions. Kinda sucks." Now, one of these pills was fast-acting, five of them had the muscular man asleep in seconds. Might also be the obvious sleep deprivation that assisted. Sure, he had slept for a year, but emotional drain and barely any sleep for a week made that energy deplete much faster.

Then Kelly realized the error. Jared was asleep and would not be waking up for at least twenty hours. And to get him back to his room would end up walking past Joselyn and that could cause any sort of issue.

For a moment, he debated dressing up like a modern day ninja—good god Zoe took after her father—and sneaking to Blight with Jared's sleeping body with Mission Impossible music in the background. Then, as hilarious as that idea was, he decided to take the more logical route and just walked to his own room and let Jared sleep on the couch.

Throwing a blanket over his apprentice, he turned to go check on Eden when Jared started making tiny noises. Most people would just ignore it, but Kelly knew that was how the drugged person cries. Don't ask how he knew that. You learn weird shit as the President of the USA on Earth. Longest four years of his existence.

He stared at Jared for a few seconds, to ensure he wasn't just trying to roll over, but then he actually stared crying, and Kelly decided to do what he had done with Zoe what felt like an eternity ago.

He entered Jared's dream and took the role of Dream Eater.

Now, Dream Eaters were technically very dangerous when not a domestic animal, and were rather terrifying to look at, but Kelly used his power for the more innocent purpose of chasing away the nightmares, or turning them into good dreams, so he had a more innocent look to him.

And then he found himself in a dark alleyway with four people dead, one unconscious against a wall, and one sobbing child with bloody hands.

Getting a better look at the scene, he realized this was the night Jared's life was spun on its heel. The night he learned of his Totem Armor ability.

But there was one thing different with this memory. A woman with black hair and eyes was standing above the crying child.

"Murderer." The woman mocked, "You liked killing those men. Yet you're still weak enough to be unable to save your dear parents. Unless you _wanted_ this to happen."

"S-Stop…" The child's voice was nothing but a whisper. And Kelly remembered to act, because this woman wasn't in Jared's memories, and as such was a nightmare in need of being shown the door out.

He threw his hand out and the woman was blasted away, only to come back full force. And Kelly realized he was fighting Iku, who was apparently not done with the mental torture. But this was still just a dream version of the Enchantress, so he overpowered her easily.

He turned and saw the child had Jared's sea green eyes, meaning he was right to assume this kid was Jared.

Jared scrambled back until his back was pressed against the wall.

"Jared, relax. I'm not going to hurt you." A part of him wanted to actually speak to this child without the memories of his older counterpart, but he came here to get rid of the nightmares, so that was what he would do, "Aren't you going to check on your parents?" Jared was still shaking,

"H-How do you know my name?"

"I know many things." He bent down to the dead body of Chris and the borderline comatose body of Kiera, shaking them both gently, and they woke up. As a Dream Eater, he could change these things. It wasn't altering memories, and Jared would wake up knowing it had been a dream, but he would sleep well tonight.

"Mom? Dad?" Both parents seemed disoriented, and Kelly smiled as he changed everything here. The attackers weren't brutally murdered, just unconscious, and Jared wasn't bloody, and was just holding a metal bat.

The family hugged, and Kelly smiled, knowing his work was done.

When he left Jared's dream, he saw the youth was no longer crying, and was smiling. Kelly brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen in his face,

"Things are hard right now, but everything will be okay. I promise."

_Damnit, I really shouldn't be raising my Death Flags. Oh well._

OoOoO

Zoe was on Blight again, putting Joselyn to bed and throwing a cloth over the once-again broken mirror. This time the mirror was broken by Jared, who the night prior had went to check on Joselyn and saw Iku watching her while she slept.

She tucked her baby sister in and went to go back to Paris, and frowned to see Gizmo sitting in the ship.

"I want to go with you." She said with a smile. Zoe frowned,

"Uh…aren't you working with Kagami?" Gizmo then darkened,

"Right…I'm sorry." There were tears in her eyes, "I'll go." She went to leave when Zoe grabbed her hand,

"I didn't say no. I was just asking." Gizmo turned with a wild look in her eyes, though said eyes were still red and puffy,

"You're damn right ya didn't! Let's fucking go!" Zoe fell over, startled at the rapid demeanor change.

"What the—?!" Gizmo sat in her seat and was suddenly sophisticated,

"I apologize. I'm trying to figure out which personality will work best with you." Zoe sat down,

"What? I just watched you chance personality per sentence."

"Yeah." Her eyes then became sparkly like an anime girl, "I'm become so _bored_ of my personality, so I change it often. But changing between people keeps multiple people happy."

"But I've been told you're just a smart kid…"

Gizmo shrugged, "No mere mortal can understand how insufferable it is to be bored with yourself. I see dozens of steps ahead, so there is no chance. Very few things excite me." Then she brightened, "Anyway, can we go?"

To say Zoe was wigged out by what she just witnessed would be an understatement. Yes, something had disturbed Zoe. Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.

"We'll go if you just stick to one personality. I don't care which, just pick one."

"Okie dokey!"

OoOoO

Quality family bonding time in the Sommers family means reading lots of magic books. They enjoyed it, and the fact they all knew more languages than one came in handy.

Felix was flipping through a book in Enochian, "Dad, do the Negojre Stones ring a bell?"

Eli turned from the book in Latin, "Hm?" Harrison brightened from his tablet,

"Negojre? Did you say Negojre?"

"Yeah. Is it important?" Harrison nodded, flipping through bookmarks his tablet until an image of six glowing stones showed up, all surrounding a black tree.

"Fe, can you read this? I think it's in Enochian." Felix took the tablet and started pacing as he read,

"The Negojre Stones were six stones created by the greatest mages of the multiverse, each one houses phenomenal power and are used as locks to the Enchantress Iku's tree prison. However, if these stones get a vessel—to whom would get these powers—the lock becomes unstable and breaks the prison open. So they were hidden in Guardian Temples of the Miraculous for safe-keeping." He looked up, "This isn't word per word, I'm just saying it in a way you all would understand, it's actually more cryptic than this." He cleared his throat, "Anyway, if all six take a vessel, the stones can be used as weapons to kill the Enchantress."

Amelia beamed, "Perfect! So that means we already have two! Kelly and Jared being the vessels."

"So we have the Asia one and the North American one." Zoe walked in, "I've been listening, as per usual. Is there one in Antarctica?"

"No."

"Good." Eli shuddered, "Indestructible be damned, one look in the mirror at the white in my hair and I remember why I'm scared of snow."

"Winter has to suck." Sam came in. Everyone turned to greet him, and realized he would actually be of great help. He'd been spending his time exploring around this world and others, taking up an apprenticeship to be an archmage on Innistrad or something. But if there was anyone who would know where the temples would be, it was Sam McCall.

Zoe turned to her childhood friend, "Sam, do you have any idea where the temples would be?"

"Not latitude and longitude." Sam bit his lip as he thought to himself, "But I have a few possible locations I can text to you."

"I want to go!" Gizmo said, and she already had a bag packed, "I can go grab MurderBot and we can go!" She giggled and bounced on her heels, "Think of all the research I could do!"

"So we're going on another quest." Zoe shrugged, "I'm down with that. So…I'll ask Eden if she's up for it!" She ran off to her sister's room and found it empty, "Hermanita?" She walked around the mansion, before finding Eden in the nursery where Danielle and Amhar slept. She was looking at her son, niece, and Hana—who was her more-or-less girlfriend and nobody could convince Zoe otherwise, because Hana was the only one who Eden really talked to these days.

Amhar was laying flat on his stomach in the middle of the floor. Every so often, he flailed a little, kicking his legs up behind him as he pummeled the ground with his tiny fists. But nothing much happened aside from that.

Hana was laying on her stomach, watching the baby's attempts to roll over. Zoe could see the small infant was slowly getting frustrated at his lack of progress, but whenever he felt like giving up, his stubbornness kicked in and he would try again.

"Come on, kiddo," Hana whispered, smiling a little, "you can do it. I believe in you."

Amhar looked up at Hana with those wide, curious sea-green eyes of his and made a sound that was part coo, part gurgle. Hana chuckled a little.

"You've got this, Amhar."

Again, Amhar flailed about to no avail. By now, even his stubborn streak was beginning to fade a little, slowly but surely being replaced by a sense of hopelessness. He wrinkled his face up like he was about to start crying, but then he met Hana's eyes once again.

Determination seemed to set in one last time as he looked at Hana's expression. Setting his jaw, Amhar flailed his legs again, using his arms to assist him as he began to lean to one side, finally seeming to realize that he needed to throw his weight around a little. And, as Hana watched, Amhar rolled over right before her eyes, landing flat on his back.

She grinned, reaching over to gently tickle Amhar's tummy—she was rewarded for that with a loud, delighted squeal—as she moved closer to the infant. "See, Amhar? I knew you could do it."

She then picked the baby up and rested him on her chest. Then she turned and saw Zoe taking pictures. Eden was just watching quietly.

"Hey Zoe." Hana said happily, "Amhar is just rolling over!" Amhar smiled, and Hana bounced him. Danielle was chewing on her teddy bear.

"I can see that." Zoe turned to Eden, "Hey sis! We found a way to get rid of Iku, but it requires another quest. Wanna join?"

"Nah. Go ask Dad."

"Ask Dad what?" They turned and saw Kelly grinning.

"If you want to join the new quest to kill Iku." Zoe looked behind her father, "Where's Jared?"

"Sleeping on my couch. He was so sleep deprived that I gave him the family hot cocoa. Then I played Dream Eater and left Cheeto with him." Zoe had almost forgotten about the baby Ocelot they had adopted three years back, which was basically an excitable house cat. Hana got excited and Kelly pointed a finger at her, "No." Hana deflated.

"Am I missing context?" Eden asked. Kelly nodded,

"You really don't want to know." He shrugged, "Anyway, Jared will be up tomorrow, so we should pack backpacks?"

"Yeah!"

OoOoO

"Why am I coming along?" Joselyn asked, "Isn't that a bad with the whole Iku thing?"

"Because this is good for you." Jared replied, "You need to get out of your shell a little."_ And I can keep an eye on you._

Gizmo had her bag in her hair, "I'm so excited! I get to explore! Imagine all the research I can get!" Zoe shrugged,

"We're hoping to get this over with quickly. Where's Dad?"

"I'm here!" Kelly was just finishing getting his robotic arm tweaked by Harrison. The thing looked so much like a normal arm that unless he opened it, they forgot it wasn't a normal arm.

"So…" Zoe did a head count, "Jared, Joselyn, Gizmo, Dad, and me. Anyone else?"

"I want to go with!" Roxas ran over. Zoe smiled sadly, picking up her son.

"Roxas…Honey…"

"It's because I'm blind." Roxas looked towards the floor as Zoe put him down, "I get it…" Jared, deciding to not leave on a low note, bent down to his height,

"Kid, I had to fight you at least six hundred times when Iku trapped me, and you kicked my overpowered ass every single time. It's just because you're young. So when you're older, you can join us. But trust me, embrace not being involved in your mother's bullshit. Once you get involved, there is no going back." Roxas giggled,

"Okay!" He ran off back to where his twin was. Zoe smirked,

"Not-Good-With-Kids my ass."

"Oh fuck you, I was just being honest. No really, he kicked my ass every single time. Without fail. Every time Vortex attacked, he phased through it!"

"So his Invincibility Frames outdo your Invincibility Frames?" Kelly asked, and Jared nodded,

"Pretty much."

Gabriel walked in with Elaine on his shoulders, "Jet's here. Get back soon. Elaine's birthday is coming up."

"About that…" Jared asked, "How old is she turning? She looks roughly six."

"I'm four." Elaine said, "But I have magic, so I aged quickly."

"Oh." Eli kissed Zoe,

"Be back soon, love."

"I will."

The new team got into the Private Jet, and Zoe started piloting. Gizmo was getting out her laptop and putting on headphones.

"Okay." Zoe's voice was heard throughout the cabin, "Anyone having second thoughts?" Joselyn raised her hand, and she was ignored.

Fifteen hours later

Jared was drawing with Kelly—still very annoyed by it—but Joselyn seemed to enjoy watching, so he didn't complain.

"Do you need any food, Jos?" Jared jumped a little when he saw Joselyn had Iku's eyes, but then it was gone as fast as it had appeared.

They heard Zoe's voice.

_"Uh…guys…I've got good news and bad news. Good news is we're gonna be landing soon. Bad news is we're crash landing."_ Kelly shot up, running to the window to see they were indeed crashing into the rainforest.

"Shit! Jared! Use a forcefield!"

"Right! I forgot I can do that!" Gizmo had cocooned herself in her hair without any fucks given. Jared tried to create a forcefield, but only really managed a tiny one. It had a blue-purple glow to it, regardless of being transparent. Maybe it was panic, but he couldn't do it!

They started hitting trees and Kelly dove at Joselyn, shielding her as the plane crashed.

OoOoO

"Hey…are you guys okay?"

Kelly opened his eyes and found he had a horrible headache. He also felt sore all over.

"Sir?" Kelly blinked a few times and saw a young man shaking him. He had short hair, glasses, and a worried expression.

He sat up and saw Zoe was sitting in a corner of the destroyed jet, a little banged up but otherwise unharmed. Gizmo was completely fine in every way. Jared had a laceration across his temple. Joselyn's arm—the unscarred one, goddamnit—was in a brace and was probably sprained or broken.

"I'm up…" Kelly assured, "Thank you." The young man sighed in relief,

"I'm glad you're okay. I'm Jared Brock." Kelly gaped.

"What?"

**A/N: No comment.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Just to clarify, Iku is to blame for the plane crash.**

**Chapter 13: Jared^2 (plus a random cameo with no context)**

Things had been perfectly normal for Zoe. Flying a private jet wasn't hard—the things the learned when under Gabriel's care as his ward back before he knew who she was…it was crazy—so she knew it wasn't her fault when the plane suddenly went on a downward spiral.

She alerted the others and then transformed into Heartless to shield herself and used her powers to steer where they crashed, settling for a small clearing. Unfortunately, they crashed into a tree, and said tree fell on top of them.

Zoe woke up after about ten minutes, knowing she had the start of a concussion.

"Guys?" She went to the cabin and gasped at the sight.

The tree had crashed into the center of the plane, and Gizmo was using her hair to lift it. Jared was slumped against the damaged cabin wall with blood dripping from his temple.

It was her Dad she worried about most. He seemed to have pushed Joselyn out of the way, but in the process had been caught under the massive tree.

"Dad!" She used her telekinesis and lifted the tree enough for Gizmo to get him out, before putting it back down, "Dad!" She shook him, "Please wake up."

He was by far in the worst condition, with clear internal bleeding and bruising and a nasty head injury, but he was breathing.

Gizmo sat down next to her, "Is he alive?"

"Yeah. But…it's bad…" Gizmo got up and shook Joselyn,

"Jos?" Joselyn woke up after a moment of shaking, and rubbed her head,

"Ow…" She moved to get up, but shrieked in pain and looked down at her swelling wrist, though it was more out of being startled at the pain than actually being in pain. So she still got up and looked between Jared and her Dad, before deciding the latter was in worse condition, "Is he…"

"No." Zoe assured, "He's not dead. But he's in a bad way. Do you think you can get Iku to…" she gestured to the scar on Joselyn's throat to prove her point, "heal him?"

"I can try." But five minutes of frustrated noises proved Iku would not be assisting. Gizmo brightened and dug into her bag for a vial identical to the one they used to save Joselyn. It had Eden's healing magic, plus magic from Zoe and Eli.

"This made Iku help last time. I did research, the chemical compound works in a way that forces out Iku's powers, and since Eden's is in the mix, it forces out healing."

"Well don't just sit there!" Zoe demanded, looking down at her Dad's pale face, "Do it!" Joselyn took the vial and downed it. Her eyes shifted to pure black and blue sparks shot out from her hands. The tan returned to Kelly's features a little, but not to normal. At least the internal bleeding stopped and any spinal injury mended. He still wasn't awake though, and that was worrisome.

"Hello?" Zoe turned and heard someone enter the jet on the other side of the tree, "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah!" Gizmo replied.

"How many are there? Any injuries?"

Joselyn answered this time, "There are five of us, two unharmed, one broken wrist, and two unconscious via head injury."

"Can you get out?"

Zoe couldn't move, "Giant tree is a problem. I have a flamethrower. Give me a second." She gently set her Dad down and changed to Heartless, burning a hole in the tree through the center and then changed to normal.

The man turned out to be a scrawny kid with glasses, wearing a polo shirt and dirty jeans. His eyes widened at the flamethrower Gizmo was holding—which would have been easier—before coming in and looking Kelly and Jared over.

Other people came as well, none of which saying their names, and helped the team out, but decided to not leave the jet because Kelly was still not in great condition and moving him could make it worse.

Jared woke up not long after, but then clutched his head and started whimpering. Joselyn, worried for her older brother, stayed close to him. Zoe was the only one who knew the reason for the warrior's pain, other than Kelly who was still unconscious. A headache—like say a head injury—removes all control of mind reading, so Jared was hearing the minds of everything in a fifty mile radius, which would boil down to a whole lot of screeching and as such a worse headache. There was also the possibility he would start hearing colors.

Kelly started moving a little after about an hour, and their first rescuer ran over, "Sir?" Zoe sighed in relief when her Dad opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

"I'm up…Thank you." The young man smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay." He looked back at Zoe, "I'm Jared Brock." Kelly gaped,

"What?" Joselyn blinked,

"How?!" Now, this was going to be confusing to identify. And now that Zoe had a name, this young man did look like Jared—albeit scrawnier, shorter hair, glasses, different attire, and overall having a less threatening aura to him—but the hair and eye color was there, as the basic facial features.

Gizmo was not bothered by this at all, getting excited, "Awesome! Other world versions really do exist!" When she put it that way, Zoe realized this made sense. It was like what Miracle said back on the Tangled world, that different worlds had different versions of people. The Jared she knew was from Blight, not the Quantic world, so obviously there was a Quantic Jared. There wasn't a Quantic version of her because she was of both worlds.

Quantic Jared looked Gizmo over, "Um…are you sure you don't have a head injury?" Zoe then smirked,

"Dad?"

"On it."

"On wha—" Quantic Jared passed out, and the other team members vanished. Joselyn looked to her wrist,

"Okay. So now we have another Jared. So what?"

"So not only can we study his behavior and how they contrast to the Jared we know," Gizmo said, "He lives in the area and can be a guide!"

"Wouldn't you need at least five Jareds for the experiment to be worth a damn?" Kelly asked, rubbing his head and taking an Advil. Gizmo shrugged,

"Yeah. But two is better than nothing. Should I be fixing up the jet?"

Zoe frowned, "You can do that?" Gizmo pulled out a laser pointer,

"This thing possesses molecular regeneration and a memory file of design. Meaning I can make the ship look like it was never damaged. Just give me an hour." She stepped out of the jet and went off to work.

"Those other people won't bother us." Kelly said after a moment, "I sent them back to their camp and made them forget this version of Jared was with them. Or that they saw a plane crash here."

"Cool." Zoe pulled out her phone, "According to Sam, the most likely place is the Ciudad Perdida in Columbia." She looked at the psychic Jared wrapped in a giant blanket—he got wrapped up by Joselyn—who was curled into a ball, "So…can we help him?"

"No." Kelly replied, "If he had more practice, yeah, but this is the first time and me helping him will only hurt him." Jared rolled over and threw up a little. And Zoe turned to her Dad,

"Really? It's like when I got migraines as a kid. Are you telling me I got that from you?!"

"You didn't figure that out already?"

"FUCK YOU DAD!"

"Please be quiet…" psychic Jared murmured weakly from where he was on the floor, "It's too loud…" The fact this version of Jared had said 'please' that confirmed for Zoe that it was really _really_ bad.

…

When the migraine struck, Jared was it's prisoner, quite helpless in his cage of pain. He was blinded with flashing colorful spots and craved darkness, quite and stillness. Occasionally the nausea would overwhelm him and he would vomit. Pain throbbed so violently around his skull that he wondered why it didn't just crack open. Joselyn was curled up right next to him on the floor and waited until he could compose enough thought to move his legs and make it to the bed.

If Kelly had told him that waking up would lead to excruciating pain after being left in the magic wash too long, and Joselyn having attempted suicide, he wouldn't have agreed to wake up.

…

After about an hour, there was a flash of light and another Jared appeared. This one looked older, and like he had been through shit.

Joselyn was surprised to see Kelly and Zoe recognized him.

"Hey Unlucky!" Zoe grinned, "Long time no see! How's other me?"

"She's okay." He looked down at both other versions of himself—one simply sleeping and the other whimpering in a blanket—"What the fuck?"

"Jared," she gestured to the psychic one, "got left in the magic wash too long. And Other Jared," she turned to the skinny one, "came to check on us when the jet crashed, and now we have kidnapped him."

"Why am I not surprised?" Zoe was surprised to see the most mature of the Jareds actually look scared for a split second while looking at Kelly, before relaxing. He sighed,

"Things have gone to shit in my timeline. There was an incident and Zoe and I lost our Miraculouses. Because we've met before, and I know things won't go to hell without them…I need the Bear and Dragon. I'll bring them back, but I need them for a bit."

Zoe smirked, "Can I have Willbreaker if I agree?"

"No. It's mine now."

"Damnit!" Multiverse Jared bent down to his psychic counterpart, slipping the Bear Miraculous off. Psychic Jared opened his eyes a crack,

"No…" Joselyn just gave him a smile and he fell back asleep. Zoe was really weirded out.

"Jared, did your luck get worse?" Multiverse Jared nodded.

"Yeah. As I said, things really went to shit." Zoe pulled the Dragon Miraculous out of her backpack—because while she didn't use it, Blazze and Viirus liked to spend time together—and handed it to him. Multiverse Jared looked down at the two, "I almost wish I didn't have to go back."

"You're lucky you came when you did." Zoe said, "Three weeks earlier and Jared—the one in the blanket—would be comatose in a magic castle nobody can access."

"Damn my timing was good." He then frowned, "Why was he comatose in a magic castle?"

"I can be to blame for that." They both turned and saw Iku had taken control of Joselyn again.

Kelly sprayed her with a squirt bottle, "Maya, what are you doing here!"

"What?" Kelly shrugged,

"Sorry, force of habit. Maya Blackwell would always show up uninvited, so it's a running joke in the Blackwell family to just refer to an unwelcome guest as 'Maya'."

_"Oh fuck you, Kelly! It's not like I died for you or anything!" _A high-pitched feminine voice surrounded them.

"You kept trying to get Harrison and I to hook up for your horny Yaoi-loving scheme!" Multiverse Jared just blinked.

"Uh…" Kelly huffed,

"Sorry about that, Maya tends to come down from the afterlife if someone says her name. She's gone now."

"Okay then." Multiverse Jared sighed, "Kelly, stay like this. Don't ever change." And then he was gone.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Zoe turned and saw Gizmo with a camera. Then she put it away and started using her fancy tech in her hair to recreate the roof.

It was another two hours before they were ready to fly. Kelly had created a GammaCore machine and used it on Jared, which made the migraine calm a little. Using it every twenty minutes had him awake for longer than a few minutes by the time they were flying again.

"So should we wake up Quantic Jared?" Joselyn asked, and Kelly turned.

"Yeah…I probably should do that." His eyes changed to rainbow and Quantic Jared woke up.

"Wha—gah!" He scrambled back against the wall, "What the heck?! Don't kill me!" Joselyn smiled warmly,

"We're not going to hurt you." She looked to Kelly, "Dad, wanna explain this?"

Three hours later

Quantic Jared gaped, "So the Multiverse is real? The huge muscular guy is another version of me?" Then his eyes legit started sparkling like an anime girl, "You have superpowers!"

"Can you guys shut up." Joselyn said, "I just got Jared to sleep."

"Yeah…" Quantic Jared looked at the other Jared, "Is he okay?"

"No." Jared replied quietly, "I think if I went to a hospital, I would be allowed to say ten without 'broken femur ward' coming for me." Coming from this version of Jared, that was saying _a lot_. Though he had been vomiting and slipping from consciousness consistently at this point. This was the longest the two Jareds had interacted because of it.

"Jared, you're going to be fine." Kelly assured, "When we land, we'll get a hotel room and stay there for a bit so you can recover. A hospital is actually the worst place for you in your condition, because there would be so many people around."

"Why does he have a crippling migraine? You left off at Zoe, Eli and Other-Me returning from the Realm of Darkness. And what was that like?"

"Well…" Gizmo chimed in, "About a year after all of that, Joselyn started displaying…weird cravings. Like eating souls. Jared followed her and decided to bring her to Blight, where they met me. Things went well for about half a year, then Iku took control of Joselyn and banished Jared's soul, leaving him in a coma unable to wake up."

"Iku?"

"Oh yeah." Kelly bit his lip, "We don't know how yet, but the Enchantress Iku managed to latch onto Joselyn when she was a baby, and has lately become strong enough to take control. This current quest we're on is to kill her. As to why Jared has a crippling migraine, I placed him in an enchanted chamber while he slept, and accidentally left him in the same room as a magic stone full of superpowers. So he, like me, has powers over the mind. But it's not fun when you get a headache, which can cripple you. When he isn't vomiting anymore, I'll give him Advil, but not until then." Quantic Jared looked at Joselyn, before speaking,

"Okay, I've been looking into ideas of the Multiverse for a long time, and the superheroes are proof of magic. But demonic possession is a stretch, even for me." Gizmo turned to Joselyn,

"Iku?" Joselyn sighed, nodding. Then she shifted into her other form—which was actually her normal Worldbender form, but Iku had an easier time controlling her in this form—and discarded the cat mask, allowing the pure black eyes to be seen.

"Are you allowing me a meal?" Iku asked, lunging at Quantic Jared, who shrieked like a little girl and fainted, before Kelly sprayed her with the squirt bottle.

"No Maya, go away!" The squirt bottle had holy water in it, which didn't burn Iku, but wasn't pleasant.

Joselyn came back and reverted to her normal form, and cried out when she saw Quantic Jared out cold on the floor. She scrambled backwards,

"Did I—?!"

"No." Gizmo assured gleefully, "He fainted in terror. And pissed himself." Kelly allowed a faint chuckle at that, and noticed Gizmo's inner turmoil. She cared about Joselyn, genuinely, deeply, more than anything. She was scared of it. And she knew nothing of her past. Kelly did. He knew everything about her, and her parents. After all, he had been the one to kill the Blight version of Viperion.

"Well, guess I have to get him cleaned up." Kelly rolled his eyes, "If Jared," he gestured to the Jared suffering from a migraine, "starts vomiting blood or has a seizure, get me immediately. But I'll only be gone for a minute."

Thanks to the power of reality warping, he was able to change Quantic Jared into new clothes that fit.

Then he hears a 'caw' sound, and turned, seeing a large crow starting at him inside the plane. He jumped a little in surprise. He hadn't seen that bird in over thirty years! Since…Since…

Since Morrigan died.

The last thing he had ever seen as a normal teenager—as normal as teen superhero could be—still haunted him.

_They had been running for a while. Or rather, Amelia was carrying Kelly, who was too weak to do much in the way of anything, even staying awake was remaining a struggle. His wrist burned, oh gods it burned._

_"Come on Kels…" Amelia begged, "Stay with me. We'll be at Harry's soon. Jaay, Let's Fly!" Jaay emerged,_

_"Mia…I'm exhausted…" Jaay said, "I haven't eaten yet. Holding out long enough to get to the manor was a struggle."_

_"Damnit!" Amelia cursed, crying as she saw her surrogate brother get closer and closer to death. It had been her idea to get Mercy's help for him, not thinking about Mara inevitably telling Regina before actually attacking them, and as such all the sisters had known and they had walked right into a trap._

_"Ame…" Kelly looked up through half-lidded eyes, "Leave me here. You can get away."_

_"No. Not a chance." _

_"This way!" Amelia turned and saw Molara, Makane and Macy. Macy froze the path behind them, and helped support Kelly, "Come on, Harrison's house isn't far, and he knows the family secret."_

_"You're helping us?" Amelia asked, and Makane nodded._

_"Come on," she grabbed Kelly and carried his entire teenage body in her hands, "Morrigan is stalling as much as she can." The large woman looked down at Kelly, "Kels, you gotta hang on for a little bit longer. And that burn is gonna be a nice scar. Just…" while they all knew Makane was a big teddy bear underneath it all, seeing her cry was something nobody expected, "don't die."_

_Kelly wanted to say he would try, but his entire body felt like he was freezing. So he just leaned in for warmth._

_It was maybe ten minutes before they realized Kelly would die without immediate help and decided the hospital was the best bet, and just feed Jaay so White Sparrow could protect him._

_"We should probably detour through that old warehouse." Molara said, "It's a less known route." She placed her hand on the ground and some plants assisted in making things more difficult for any attackers._

_"Kelly?" Macy looked to him, "Are you still…"_

_"I'm alive…" it was barely a whisper, but it was there._

_"Not for long." They turned and saw Morrigan emerge from the shadows, "Mo, Macy, Makane, you need to go. Mara will be here any second!" Makane stood firm,_

_"Nope. I'm done taking orders from that little bitch just because she is mother's favorite. Kelly's our brother and I'm not gonna let him die!"_

_"Please," Morrigan begged, removing one of her gloves for the first time in years, "I have a plan. Just hide." Macy sent Makane a pleading look, and the elder relented, giving Kelly back to Amelia, and hid in the shadows._

_"Morrigan," Amelia looked up and saw Mara standing above, "Turns out you are good for something." She jumped down and summoned a fireball, "And it looks like I just need to execute Amelia, and Kelly will just die on his own." She walked towards them menacingly, "You have no idea how many sisters liked you two. Mother even had to punish some for letting you get away. Such a shame you ended up being traitors." To the surprise of Amelia and the semiconscious Kelly, Morrigan stepped in front of them. It was heartwarming, it really was, they just didn't expect their twin—because the three of them had the same birthday, they counted themselves as triplets—to stand up to Mara._

_"Morrigan? Having a change of heart?" Morrigan lunged, tackling Mara to the ground and pinning the witch with her foot, the threat of her exposed hand which housed the power of instant death preventing a fight._

_"There, are you happy now?" Morrigan asked, "I will never betray them! They've been nicer to me than you or mother have ever been!" _

_Mara laughed, "Right back at ya."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Violence against mother's favorite and allowing the traitors to get away is prohibited." Mara explained with a smirk, "This is a violation. Heed my call, O spear of legend, Gungnir! Come to thine master's aid!"_

_Dozens of spears appeared out of nowhere and all stabbed Morrigan at the same time._

_"MOR!" Amelia shrieked, and Kelly wanted to scream but just didn't have the energy. Morrigan's eyes went wide as she looked at the spears through her body,_

_"Huh? What…? That doesn't make sense… Why… me…?" Then she fell to the ground and moved no more._

_That was the last thing Kelly saw before slipping from the realm of waking._

Ah yes, what a traumatic memory that had been. He desperately wished to forget that day. While Makane had had enough and knocked Mara out with a bat right after that moment and finished the escape, he wanted Morrigan to still be alive.

"Raven?" Kelly walked towards the crow slowly, holding his hand out. The bird softened, before vanishing into a puff of smoke.

They landed, and Kelly used his powers to conceal the jet. Zoe was helping support Jared, while Quantic Jared was still shellshocked.

"Okay…so at this rate, Jared is gonna start vomiting blood." Zoe said, "So what's the plan?"

"Come along." Kelly said, "I know what to do.

They walked to and checked into the Click Clack Hotel **(A/N: Which is actually a real hotel)**, well… by check in, Kelly really mind-controlled the manager into giving them the best available suite, which was a small penthouse.

Once in the room, Kelly started using a sharpie to draw symbols on the walls.

"What are you doing?" Gizmo asked.

"Warding the room. Jared's powers won't be able to get past it, so he will be able to recover." Gizmo skipped over and started helping put the wards on the room.

Quantic Jared was rocking back and forth in the corner, and Kelly decided to leave him be, since the other Jared was now sleeping rather peacefully.

"Zoe…" Zoe turned to her Dad,

"Yeah?"

"Can you watch them. I need one of the bedrooms to myself for a few minutes." Zoe raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Kelly walked into one of the bedrooms and used more wards to soundproof the room.

Once alone, Kelly sighed, "Death, I know you're there. We need to talk." He felt the wind pick up in the room and felt the person behind him.

"Hello Kelly. What did you need?"

**A/N: So that is now three Jareds. If you need context on Morrigan, go check out _Another's Beginning_. And Kelly knows Death.**

**Remember to review, they make my day—and Cheeto's.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: The third Jared that appeared is from ****_Of Other Worlds_****, and they met during****_ A Hero's Journey_****, and that cameo takes place about fifteen years into the future of that story.**

**Chapter 14: Hello Darkness, my old friend**

Kelly smiled to the cloaked figure, "Long time, old friend." Death pulled off her—actually, she had claimed to be genderless, but she preferred taking the form of girls, so she had the female pronoun—hood and revealed the form of Emilie. Kelly sighed,

"Hey, I put up with the Maeve thing because I had never met her at the time. But you are actually taking the form of my wife right now. Could you not?" Death chuckled,

"You haven't changed, Kels." Her face started to shift and she took the form of a young woman slightly shorter than Kelly and had short brown hair and bright turquoise eyes, highlighted by a splattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks, "Better?"

"Thanks. You always have taken a liking to girls with light hair and eyes." Death shrugged,

"The female form interests me, and that is generally what the masses find attractive from what I've observed." She walked over to the cabinet and poured two glasses of red wine, "So what did you need? Surely this isn't for old times sake, because we could always go to my domain for that like normal."

"Actually…there are a few things I needed to talk to you about." Death looked up, intrigued. She was one of seven 'Deaths', a system used to ensure one Death didn't pull cause an apocalypse, so power was divided among seven. Grim Reaper for humans, Lady of the Lake for the Fae, and this Death for magical creatures. Kelly had never met the others, so he was unsure of their identity.

"And what would that be?"

"Today, I was in a private jet, and…I saw Morrigan Blackwell's Familiar. But that's impossible, because the bird died when she did, and I watched Mor die. Yes, I know a crow is an omen of death, but the fact it was _this_ bird is what bothers me." Because Death had turned towards the window and wasn't facing him, he didn't see the look of pure dread appear on her face, which vanished when she shrugged.

"Raven? The bird has an attachment to you, always has. You almost died in that plane crash, I almost had to reap you if it weren't for the quick thinking of your daughters. The bird must have followed me. And yes, crow means omen of death, but you lived with that bird for ten years and yet here you stand. Don't worry about it."

"Okay…" He took a sip of wine, looking towards Death, "The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is that I want to cash in that favor." Death clapped gleefully,

"Oh good. I was wondering if you would do that. I mean seriously, last time you thought about using it was almost twenty years ago." She smiled, "Would have been a waste, using it to keep Zoe from dying. Regardless of Maeve having her at twenty weeks, she was destined to survive."

"She's my daughter. I would have done it."

"Ah yes, but destiny is never left to chance. Sure, prophecies can be changed, but true destiny can't be; if it is, it just creates another timeline. All I do is guide souls to their proper place, and help them find peace when they move on." Death sat on the bed, "So what will it be? In exchange for a year of being my reaper, you earned a favor." In actuality, that year was the price for him not dying when his Miraculous was destroyed, and he asked for Death to ensure Harrison and Amelia didn't get hurt, so he got the favor as an apology when Amelia died. Death pulled out a scroll,

"Reminder of the rules. No contradicting the favor of others. Nothing self-destructive. No time travel. No killing Death Entities."

"Right." Kelly nodded, "I need exact locations of the remaining Negojre stones and the way of accessing them."

"Really?" Death frowned, "I thought you would at least wish for Iku to be out of your kid. Can't kill her because she is a Death Entity, but I can get her out."

"As much as I want that," he explained, "Iku is contained well enough in Joselyn. While you could get Iku out, she would just take another vessel, and likely someone more dangerous than Joselyn. I love my daughters more than anything, and hate seeing her suffer, but she would understand. Joselyn would never forgive herself if Iku left and caused terror to the Multiverse."

"Good answer." Death nodded approvingly, "I knew it was a good idea to give you a favor. Still pure of heart." She created a small leather journal, "Here, this has the locations and methods to get the stones, as well as which stone it is and the power it houses."

"Thanks Death." Death punched his arm playfully,

"No problem. At least now I don't have to worry about you going batshit crazy and using the favor to cause issues." She smirked, "It's always been a fear of mine. You're shifty." He laughed and rolled his eyes,

"Death, you know me. You don't have to worry about that. But now that my favor's been spent, are you gonna still be around?"

"Yeah. I'm the Queen of the Afterlife of Magical Creatures." She noticed Kelly was still frowning, "What is it?"

Morrigan's crow was staring at them both from the window.

Death sighed, "Come on Kels, I'll show you the afterlife."

"GAH!" They both turned and saw Quantic Jared gaping at them. Then Kelly remembered he had soundproofed the door, but didn't lock it. So this little Jared was looking between Kelly and the woman and making noises that made it clear he was confused and scared.

"Z-Zoe w-an-wanted me t-to tell yo-you d-dinner is r-ready." Death shrugged,

"Well, you get to see too."

And Kelly found himself in a small suburban town. People were walking around and overall really happy.

Quantic Jared looked around, "What is this?"

"The afterlife." Death explained, "Come on, I'll explain."

Walking through the town, people were very happy and smiling. Generally they were eerily happy.

"So in my domain, it's a normal world, where everyone has what they need, and nobody hurts anyone. The people are placed in neighborhoods where they will interact with the others better. Close families are in the same neighborhood and so on."

"What about the bad people?" Kelly asked, "Like Mara or Regina or someone." Death sighed,

"Ah yes…the bad ones. Well, I don't have a Hell system. I have a Rehabilitation. A world cut off from the good, where nothing is unfair, and it helps those driven to evil due to injustice or revenge. The damn demented ones have their memories wiped and are placed in Rehabilitation. The people suffering from true insanity have their own neighborhood and the help they need."

"That sounds too good to be true." Quantic Jared looked around, "This can't have lasted."

"Well, I've been 'Death' for almost forty living years, which means over four hundred dead years. And things have gone perfectly."

"Wow." Kelly breathed, "Where are the Blackwell sisters?" Death smiled,

"Morrigan is in her Rehabilitation—trauma induced—so we can't access her. Most of the sisters are spread out. Some are evil. I'm actually walking to Makane's place." She knocked on the door to the small house and Makane opened the door. She was still huge and muscular in a way that would make Psychic Jared jealous, but she was now wearing an apron and the smell of cookies overwhelmed Kelly's senses.

"Kels?!" Makane's eyes widened, "What are you—!?"

"Relax." Death assured, "I owed him a favor, then decided to show him the afterlife." Makane sighed in relief.

"Oh thank god. Kels, you had me worried there. I left the scrying bowl for ten minutes!" She looked to Quantic Jared, "So the chipmunk came too." She wrapped an arm around Quantic Jared, who mewed in terror, "Come on chipmunk, cookies are ready."

"How did you know what Zoe calls me?" Kelly turned,

"What?"

"She's started calling me 'Kawaii Chipmunk' and I have no idea what that means."

Makane put the cookies down, "It means you are adorable like one of those stupidly cute anime schoolgirls. You are too precious for the world, and therefore your death flags are raised." She pulled out a white bowl full of glowing water, "I've been watching for a while in my bowl."

Kelly hugged her, "Long time, Makane." Makane nodded,

"Wish I could have been there for that badass final battle. Though Eli got to kill Mara, and that's a win in my book. Too bad I can't beat her up now."

"Why not?"

"Because without her memories of mother's influence, she's nice!" Makane pouted, "That bitch killed Morrigan, Amelia, made our lives hell, and yet one look at her now and you have no idea those two could be the same."

"Dang." Quantic Jared took one of the cookies, "When Zoe told me about her, I thought she was evil to the core."

"It was mother." Makane said, "Though with mother, since she's actually Fae but works as a witch, our Death and Freya have jurisdiction battles from time to time. Right now Regina is off burning in hell where she belongs since Freya took control."

"Freya?"

"The Lady of the Lake." Makane clarified, "She's a little jaded after doing that job for a thousand living years, but she's cool." She turned to Kels, "Anyway, I want to talk about those kids of yours. I see you taught the eldest like I taught you."

Kelly smiled, truly smiled—and people who really knew him also knew that was not a common thing, "I did learn from the best."

They talked for hours before going back to the hotel, where it had only been five minutes.

"So…" Quantic Jared turned, "Are we keeping that between us?"

"Yeah."

OoOoO

Eli was taking a nap when Aelin crawled into bed with him.

"Daddy…" she shook him, "Daddy, where's Mommy?"

"She's off saving the multiverse again." Aelin pouted.

"We're all bored. Uncle Gabriel refuses to tell us any more stories about his time as Hawk Moth, so I came to ask if you have any stories." Eli sat up,

"I have so many stories." He picked up his eldest daughter, "Come on, story time."

He walked into the living room and saw Gabriel ignoring the pleas of begging children. Eli smirked. This was his revenge for the bastard hurting his wife all those years ago—he had sworn revenge on Hawk Moth, and this was how he was gonna do it.

"So kids," he took Danielle and bounced her on his leg, "What story do you want to hear? Zoe has told me her perspective on all the stories." Gavin raised a hand,

"Was there ever a time where the villains and the heroes worked together, other than Mara." Gabriel and Eli paled.

"Yes." Gabriel said, "Turns out Zoe is common ground between us."

Four years earlier

"Pound it!" The team of heroes fist-bumped. Fireheart was looking wistfully at where the lollipop monster had been, because she had wanted to eat it. And then Miraculer showed up. Fireheart's choker beeped,

"I'll be back in a minute!" She ran off, changing back behind the carousel and feeding Blazze, where she gasped to see Miraculer take the power of Cataclysm and use the activation phrase. How did things go to shit in the thirty seconds she was gone?!

And then she got an idea. Transformed or not, she was a superhero. Besides, she had a plan that would make sure the heroes and villains cooperated…assuming she was right. And she saw Mayura waiting by the hotel, but also close to the park.

She sprinted in front of Chat, unknowingly using her Worldbender abilities to become faster, "Chat!" And took the Cataclysm to the ribs, sent flying backwards into the fence.

"ZOE?!" Came from everyone, including Mayura. Mockingjay was the first to her side, followed seconds later by Chat and Tigris.

"Zoe, hey, can you hear me?"

The pain took over a portion of her brain, as if dealing with it was energy expenditure enough, without the effort of new thoughts. It was the sort of pain that burned, as if some invisible flame where held against her skin. The emotions of loss are that way, right? Death, abandonment or betrayal, they all led here.

She didn't know what to expect from that pain, but they had tested Cataclysm on a rat they found in an alleyway, so they all knew Cataclysm took about an hour to kill. Didn't make it any less excruciating.

At some point, she was in Mockingjay's arms, and she could hear his racing heartbeat.

"Get her out of here!" Tigris ordered.

…

"No!" Hawk Moth screamed to himself. Seriously?! Why was it _only_ when he cared about her did she end up in mortal danger! "Mayura, get her back here so we can heal her! Abandon the plan! I'll make sure Miraculer keeps the other heroes busy so it's one on one for you."

_"__Of course, Hawk Moth. But what will we do when we have her? Only Ladybug can save her."_

"We don't know that." He replied, "The Black Cat is equal to the Ladybug, so the chances aren't great of that power being able to be reversed when used on a living being. But I could akumatize you to heal her."

_"__Alright."_

…

Mockingjay landed in an alleyway, looking down at his girlfriend with teary eyes. Her shirt had been destroyed, leaving her in her bra, jeans, and cardigan. The wound was sickeningly black and burned, and he could tell her ribs were broken.

"Z-Zoe…Stardust…" she looked up with tired eyes,

"Hm?"

"_Why_…?" He asked, "Why didn't you wait or let us handle it?"

"Chat's my brother." Zoe replied, coughing, "And I wasn't gonna watch him get hurt."

"You weren't transformed! If Ladybug doesn't defeat Miraculer soon then you'll—" He couldn't say it. He couldn't. He loved her too much to watch her die. If he had to tear apart Paris to find a cure, he would do it. But she was his life, and he wasn't gonna give her up. A world where he was a superhero who couldn't save the one person that mattered was not a world he wanted to live in.

"Hero…I just need to rest." She closed her eyes to sleep, but he shook her,

"Nope. Not until you're healed."

"Mockingjay…please…" she looked up at him, "I'll be fine. Go help the others…"

"NO!" He shook his head, "No, Fireheart, I am not leaving you like this!" She coughed, and Mockingjay saw the blood was let himself scream, emerging from the alleyway and running to the manor. He didn't care anymore. Douglas could go fuck himself, secret identity be damned, he had medical supplies—because you don't survive being whipped, starved, raped, locked in a closet, and all of that shit without some serious medical knowledge.

He was surprised to be intercepted by Mayura. He had expected the peacock villain to be going towards the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, not him. Then he remembered all the attempts on Zoe's life and wondered how he forgot for even a second.

"Give her to me." Mayura said, "Hawk Moth and I can heal her." He wasn't going to believe that for a second, holding his girlfriend closer,

"Fat chance! Need I remind you of the attempts on her life before this? How do I know you won't just finish the job?" He didn't notice his damaged Miraculous start tapping into his bound warlock powers, which had him glowing and floating. Mayura held her hands up,

"Believe it or not, she doesn't have until the end of the hour. We don't know if Miraculous Ladybug will heal her, so taking her to Hawk Moth is the best bet." Mockingjay looked down at Zoe, who was even paler than normal and he was getting flashbacks.

"Fine." He said after a moment, "But if I think for even a second that you will hurt her, I will not hesitate to flay you both alive."

"Deal."

Mayura placed a blindfold on his eyes and guided him to the lair, where Hawk Moth was waiting.

"Set her down!" Now, Mockingjay would normally kill these two and retrieve the Miraculouses and make this whole mess end, but his role as terrified boyfriend overpowered that. Hawk Moth closed his fist, and the Miraculer akuma purified and returned to the source.

"So…now what?" He asked, "Aren't you gonna heal her?" Hawk Moth sighed,

"I was going to do this by having Mayura detransform. However, we can't reveal our identities, so…" he looked down at Zoe, "I guess we could blindfold you." Mockingjay detransformed,

"Just do it." Eli held his hands out, "I care about her more than I do my identity." Hawk Moth and Mayura gaped, before the former grabbed an akuma, and Eli transformed into Healer, and used the newfound power to heal Zoe—again unknowingly tapping into his warlock abilities. The Cataclysm mark healed, not completely, but stopped spreading and some color returned to Zoe's face.

And Eli knew no more.

…

Hawk Moth and Mayura looked to each other. While they had both wondered the identity of Zoe's boyfriend, neither had expected him to give it up so easily when she had outright told them he refused to protect her. What made knowing Eli's identity dangerous?

"Mayura, can you take him home?" He asked, "Just drop him off." He bent down and looked at the Miraculous. He could feel it was damaged, but it clearly wasn't gradual like the peacock's had become. Maybe he would be able to help with Emilie…

No. He didn't want to drag the kid into this. Though at least it now made sense with how this "random kid" had managed to freeze Paris.

"Yes, Hawk Moth." Mayura took Eli and left, using her fan to hide his face. Hawk Moth looked at Zoe, who was just starting to wake up.

"Hawky?" She sat up, gasping in pain. Hawk Moth detransformed and helped her sit up.

"You shouldn't have pulled a stunt like that." He said, "If your boyfriend hadn't been desperate, you would have died."

"Mockingjay?" She raised an eyebrow, "How am I here? I don't remember anything outside the alleyway."

"Mayura intercepted him and brought both of you here. He gave up his identity so I could give him the power to save you."

"WHAT?!" Her eyes widened, "He said he couldn't say his identity! You better not hurt him!"

"Relax." Gabriel assured, "I won't hurt him. But I will tell you that you know him outside the mask, and won't be disappointed. If that's what he is afraid of, then he doesn't have to worry."

"Right…I just can't believe he would give that up to save me."

"He loves you." Gabriel helped her up, "Come on, let's get you into bed." Miraculous Ladybug didn't work because he renounced the akuma, and Ladybug didn't know about the healing. So he helped her to her bed.

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" She asked, "I get we bonded in London, but I thought that would've changed by now." Gabriel paused,

"You mean a lot of many people. Besides, you understand my goal. If I weren't desperate, I would just work with you for a safer method. And I would rather be off my son's shit list." Zoe chuckled,

"Fair. Can you fetch me a shirt? I've been exposed far too long." He grabbed a baggy shirt and she put it on. When he came up with some food after tending to Natalie, he found her asleep.

He smiled.

OoOoO

Mockingjay slipped into Zoe's bedroom to find her sleeping. She looked healthy enough. Still, he had to be sure. He lifted up her shirt and saw some bandages along her ribs.

"Hey Hero." She said sleepily, "Didn't take you as someone who would watch me sleep." Mockingjay flushed,

"No! Nothing like that! I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Mayura said you were, but I trust them about as much as I like them." Zoe sat up with a wince,

"I'm fine, thanks to you. Hawky told me you gave up your identity to save me." He froze.

"H-He told you that…?!" She nodded,

"And that I wouldn't be disappointed with your civilian identity. Though really, assuming you really are the age you claim to be, I can't think of a way I could be disappointed."

His mood darkened, "I didn't tell you because I'm dealing with some dangerous things. I don't think it's safe yet. But who cares if two villains know and I get to keep you alive? If they get sucked into my bullshit, then I don't care." She kissed him,

"Still, thank you. I know it had to be hard."

"Anytime, Stardust."

Present Day

"And then you fucked?" Amren asked. Eli spit out his drink,

"WHAT!? Why would you think we did that!?"

"Because that's how fairy tales end." Amren replied with a cheshire grin matching her mother's. Eli shook his head,

"No. We had only been dating a few months at the time. And she was injured. And I wasn't ready for that kind of thing. And so many other things that make me wonder why a three year old is asking that." Amren just smirked.

Danielle was chewing on a cinnamon roll until it was gone. She looked at her Dad and gestured to say she wanted another. He sighed,

"We're out, Dani." Danielle pouted, then there was a loud crashing noise outside.

Eli ran outside and saw their gate had been dented by a truck. The guy came out,

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Gabriel was mumbling to himself and Eli just smiled.

"No problem. No harm no foul." The guy walked into the truck, and put a sticky note on the box.

"Here's my number for insurance, and a box of cinnamon rolls as apology?" Eli gaped, but nodded, walking back inside.

Elaine gawked at the box, "How?! That's complete and utter—"

"Bullshit!" Danielle said gleefully, clapping her hands together. That had been her first word and was by far her favorite word.

The kids groaned. Danielle's "Bullshit Powers" were infamous at this point. She was practically breaking the laws of reality with the power of sheer luck.

"It's Dani." Roxas said, having been reading Braille in the corner, "You never really know what's gonna happen." Harrison giggled,

"No. You really don't."

OoOoO

Sam was sitting in his room as the archmage of Innistrad, reading all the books on Iku and the Negojre stones. Beside him were Dausi and Connor. They had claimed to have a business and that was the reason for them being gone, but they were really helping him with this. He had sensed Iku for years. Like Jacob in _Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children_, he could see the monsters. He'd met Joselyn while on his quest to find Zoe and Eden all those years prior, and immediately sensed something wasn't right. He had also sensed something wasn't right with Maeve. But he didn't realize this was a superpower until he was banished to the Dark Realm.

Right now, they had realized an issue.

"The Negojre Stones were created by the Original Six 'Deaths' to contain the entity known as Celestial, which split into Iku and Vita last time the stones were used." Connor read aloud, "Manipulation of the mind prevented the two from getting along, but they will merge again if they can get passed that magic. Power of Life and Death in one being."

"That sounds bad." Dausi said, and Connor continued reading.

"These stones were later altered by Vita to trap Iku into the Shadow Tree. If one gets a vessel and not the others, it unlocks the prison. But Iku would still need a vessel between a magical being and a Darkling." Sam paled at that,

"Needs a vessel? Magical being and a Darkling?!" Kelly was the partial vessel for the Mind Peridot, and sired Joselyn with a Darkling. He had expelled the Darkling part of the girl's blood, but Iku must have followed him to Earth and…just watched until Regina turned Maeve? That would have been over ten years!

Did Regina have anything to do with this?

No. He shook himself. There was no way Regina planned that far ahead. Her goal was to kill her siblings and take over the Multiverse…but she had recruited Anti-Dausi…No…

"Sam…" Dausi put a hand on his shoulder, "I think Regina really did plan that far ahead." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Regardless, Regina is dead. At least we have an idea of how Iku latched onto Joselyn. But how do we kill the bitch? Vita seems against her as well, so we shouldn't have to worry about the Celestial thing."

"It says she needs to be killed inside and out." Connor said, "Her vessel needs to kill her from inside, and the Negojre Stone wielders need to hit her from the outside. But…whoever kills Iku…" he looked up, "Their soul will vanish forever. No afterlife. No resurrecting. Just…gone. And then someone else would have to take Iku's place as Underworld Ruler."

"Lovely." Sam muttered sarcastically, pulling out his phone, "Should I tell them that Joselyn has to die for Iku to die?" Dausi shook her head,

"Jared will flip, Joselyn would go for it. Tell Kelly, he will make a plan." Sam nodded, sending Kelly a message.

"Done. I just hope we don't have to lose Joselyn." He turned back to the two, "You guys should go check on Amren." Dausi and Connor left, and Sam stepped onto the balcony, holding up a star made of sea shells.

_"__It's my lucky charm!"_ Ten year old Zoe had said, _"Be sure to bring it back to me."_

He hadn't given it back yet. He tried to when he saw her again, and she just told him to keep it, as it clearly brought him more luck than it did for her, and he still treasured it to this day.

"Guys…" he looked at the moon and the stars that were really hundreds of other worlds, "just be safe."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: The Pavilion**

Joselyn couldn't help but be just a little disappointed with her first few hours on another continent. She had thought it would feel rather monumental, like another world altogether. Instead it felt normal, with the exception of everything being in Spanish—thank god Zoe, Kelly and Quantic Jared spoke the language.

It was probably just the exhaustion talking. Joselyn hoped it was just the exhaustion talking. She hadn't been able to take in the landscape, maybe, and they had spent most of their time so far at the hotel while Psychic Jared recovered from the head injury and by extent the migraine. Maybe it was just that they were in a city, where influences from all over the world meshed together with the traditional culture and diluted it a bit.

Their first full day in Colombia—to be more specific, Bogota—was spent shopping. Zoe dragged them from store to store, stocking up on all of the things they would need, never buying enough in one place to raise too many eyebrows. Joselyn tagged along, taking pictures of some of the products she wasn't familiar with. Kelly came along as well to help, while Quantic Jared stayed back in their hotel with Gizmo, who was the one person he got along with. Psychic Jared stayed back as well, mostly because he still hadn't recovered from the migraine and struggled when standing.

They were loaded with bags by the time they returned to the hotel for the day. Zoe had insisted on making several trips and going to several different grocery stores, just so the check-out clerks wouldn't question the piles of food, which meant several rounds of going to and from the hotel to drop off their purchases.

"I'd question the amount of food, but there are six of us and we're going to be out there for a bit." Gizmo said as they edged down the narrow hallway to their rooms. "Hiking always makes people hungrier."

As they unloaded their bags, Joselyn was deeply grateful they would be hiking with magic. There was absolutely no way they would be able to carry everything otherwise, not without a pack horse or something.

Walking into the hotel room, Joselyn heard Gizmo talking, "This is not going to be fun when we're traveling in the car for hours with loud noises." Gizmo was giving Psychic Jared a supremely nervous look. "Are you going to be better tomorrow?"

"I hope so," Psychic Jared grumbled, looking completely miserable as he snuggled under a blanket. "I don't like having to sit around. And it's gonna be a problem if I'm in too much pain to hike. But Kelly did say it should wear off within a day or two."

"So you should be better by tomorrow." Joselyn curled up with him, "Good." Quantic Jared looked between the two,

"What exactly is your relationship. I think I need to call the police." Zoe glared,

"No, nothing pedophile-related. They're like siblings. And even if it was, you're in no position to go against us."

"How are you not considered a terrorist with a hostage?"

"I have no idea. I'm actually a police detective."

The look on Quantic Jared's face was priceless.

OoOoO

They got off to an early start, checking out of the hotel at a ridiculous hour in the morning and piling themselves, their bags, and all of their food into a car that Kelly may-or-may-not have mind controlled someone into giving them— Jared remembering stealing a car and Gabriel managed to lock him in the observatory for days afterward, so he was jealous and was hoping to figure out that little trick.

Holy shit, there was a lot to take pictures of. Camille had demanded pictures, and Joselyn had taken up the role of photographer. While Jared hated being in pictures, it kept Joselyn entertained and distracted from Iku. Or the word on her fucking arm that he wanted gone. He'd asked Kelly to remove it, but after what happened to Eli, the older mage was reluctant to use any magic on his family. So he just had to deal with the word MONSTER greeting him every time she took off her jacket. It was practically taunting him or the year she had deteriorated and he hadn't been there to stop it.

He couldn't wait to start hiking, truth be told. He wanted to get out, wanted to stretch his legs. He was very tired of sitting. They had sat on the plane, they had sat in the hotel, and now they were sitting in the car for hours on end. It was a relief to stop at rest stations, just so he could jump out and walk around. Zoe didn't seem impressed by the number of times they asked to stop for a break but, well, what did she expect? They couldn't just sit for hours and hours on end, that was ridiculous.

By the time dusk had fallen and they finally pulled into the parking lot of a hotel, they had been on the road for an insane amount of time and the charm had largely worn off for the day. None of them were really used to being in cars for more than a couple hours at a time and they had definitely spent more than a couple hours in the car that day, and they would be doing the same for the next two days as well.

They all split up pretty quickly once dinner had finished, which meant Jared was left alone with Kelly. The other mage promptly headed into the bedroom and passed out, and Jared couldn't hold back a sigh.

Yeah, being in a different continent was not turning out like he'd thought.

OoOoO

Day Two of their journey dawned grey and early. Rain poured down from the sky, tapping against the glass of the windows of first the car.

Joselyn sighed and propped her elbow against the window as she stared outside. The scenery was mostly obscured by the falling rain, and what she could see was turned grey by the rain and clouds. Her left leg was starting to cramp from being in the same position for hours, thanks to the lack of leg room in the car.

The hiking days would be long and hard, there would be bad weather and blisters and food that wasn't cooked through. It wouldn't just be gorgeous scenery and magic and following what was essentially a high-stakes treasure hunt through the wilderness.

"I don't think we can even do any car games," Gizmo said after a further few minutes.

Quantic Jared looked confused, "I spy—"

"NO!" Everyone shouted, and Zoe turned her hand into a sword while driving.

"Kawaii Chipmunk, I will cut you!"

"What?" And so the Ditch Incident for explained again. Quantic Jared wondered what the hell was wrong with Zoe's family, and mused how suddenly her behavior made a lot more sense.

Two hours later

"Okay," Kelly was reading the book from Death, "It'll be slow going once we start hiking. Because while this is a known hiking location, we have to take a more secret trail, and do this at night so civilians won't walk in on this. Anyway, we'll be hiking to find the Lost City, and then Jared, the psychic one, and I have to unlock the temple and one of us has to absorb the Amethyst, which holds the power of Conversion. The trip should take a week tops."

"What does that mean?" Quantic Jared asked. Kelly turned,

"It means you or Gizmo has to absorb the power to alter the periodic table."

"That sounds dangerous." Gizmo replied, "But the superpower sounds awesome. But I will gladly give it to you, Chipmunk."

This led to Quantic Jared asking if they knew Rena Rouge and revealing a huge fangirl crush. Psychic Jared was literally drawing of his own will so he could stay out of the conversation, Kelly was recording like he always does, while Zoe was talking about Alya because why not.

By the time they pulled into the parking lot of a secret hiking trail to the Lost City, all of them were tired, hungry, and more than a little cranky. Kelly was too done to care, and created a wagon to carry them all in—Joselyn and Gizmo were asleep right now—and dragged it to a secluded section of the forest and setting up the tents and starting a fire. The sun was going down and Kelly killed a bird and started cooking it.

Zoe finished putting the children to bed—or sleeping bag, as the kids had their tent, and Jareds shared a tent, and Zoe shared with her Dad.

"I can't wait to start properly," Zoe said after they were settling onto some logs and eating with the adults. Her eyes were shining with excitement. "It's going to be great! What kinds of things do you think we'll see?"

"Mountains, I guess? Hidden lakes? I don't know what kinds of animals there are." Kelly replied. Quantic Jared raised a hand meekly,

"How did you guys meet? You know…Other Me and you guys." Psychic Jared looked up,

"Oh, I got dragged into their bullshit." He replied, "I thought they were working for the villain on my world, Ladybug—different Ladybug, don't even think about that, the two are very different—and in exchange for my help, Kelly used his mind powers to kill Ladybug and her followers. I could have handled it, but Godkiller, Blackhawk and White Tiger were really strong and worrisome."

Kelly frowned. He hadn't really looked at who he was killing. He just started with Ladybug and ran down the chain, destroying everything in seconds. But he had the drawings, so he went into Psychic Jared's memories and followed the chain, dropping his paper plate at what he found.

Zoe turned, "Dad…you okay?" Kelly nodded,

"Y-Yeah…I just need a moment alone." He got up and walked into the woods.

Both Quantic Jared and Zoe turned to the only other adult who could figure out what was in Kelly's head.

"Jared," she gestured to where her Dad had walked off to, "can you go…?" He got up,

"Fine. Just keep the chipmunk amused." He walked off into the woods, looking for Kelly. It really wasn't a good idea to be wandering creepy unknown woods at night. He decided that he didn't want to be here and risked following the chain he had finally figured out how to use. He had to be _really_ careful, but he could observe things, and he got a general sense of Kelly's location.

What he found was not what he expected. There was a flat stone panel with twelve flowers in their own circle. Kelly was hopping between them and Jared took note of the order. When he hit the last one, the floor opened up beneath him and a stairway appeared underground, and closed when he was out of sight.

"Huh?" Jared looked at the circular panel on the ground, before jumping onto the first flower, which lit up. Jumping between them wasn't hard, it just took knowing which flower to jump to. When he hit the final one, he too walked down the stairs and found himself on a boat dock, with a glowing pavilion in the center of the lake.

The lake-side air was surprisingly refreshing. This was no natural basin filled with water, but the luxury addition to a formal garden by an earl with both copious leisure time and money. Jared stepped closer to the edge and crouched down. From six feet up the surface was an opaque green, but from just two it was clear enough to see the plants and life below the surface. He had expected the highly colored Japanese Koi Carp and wasn't disappointed. They were huge and numerous, each about as long as his arm. He gazed across the wind-ruffed surface to the lily pads in bloom, their white or magenta petals catching the breeze.

Stepping on one of the boats, he found the thing moved on its own to the center island, which was a pavilion surrounded by glittering gold flowers.

Kelly was sitting on one of the white marble benches, holding one of the flowers and weeping. in front of him were transparent figures of Godkiller, Blackhawk, and White Tiger.

Now what Jared got a good look at them, he saw who they really were: Zoe, Eli, and Eden.

_Oh_.

"Kelly?" Kelly shot up and wiped his eyes, but Jared realized the older mage's old statement held true. His eyes did not lie. The dark blue held true. Even if his eye color changed, the puffy eyes and tears still falling would betray him.

"Jared? I thought the flower panel would repel you."

"It almost did. Then I realized Zoe was a deadlier force than flowers ever could be. And I could not keep listening to Chipmunk begging Zoe for more info on Alya. I was literally drawing _of own will_ so I could avoid being involved." Kelly let himself laugh, but it didn't reach his eyes, and he clenched the flower in his hand.

"Jared, look, I appreciate you checking on me, but I really need to be alone." Jared looked over at the three illusions of his enemies,

"That isn't them, Kelly. Those aren't _your_ kids."

"Yeah. They were." Kelly snapped, "Another version of me is their father, so no matter how you slice it, I still murdered my children!"

"But—"

"But what?" Kelly glared, and his eyes changed to a red and dark blue mix—Jared had honestly thought they would merge into purple, apparently not—"But they're villains? But I was doing the right thing? Trust me Jared, when you're a father, you love your children regardless of that."

"Good thing I have no plans on being a father." Kelly smirked,

"If you piss me off enough, Camille is gonna be giving you a nice call about Jared Jr." Jared turned and almost gave himself whiplash,

"You are a horrible person."

"Thank you." But Jared noticed how Kelly's eyes hadn't changed, so he did some mind-digging and was very surprised by the results.

"Kelly, stop changing the subject. Are you okay?" When Kelly immediately put his mental shields back up and plastered on a fake smile, Jared had his answer.

"I'm okay, Jared. I just need to let this information sink in." But he had forgotten that Jared was technically a stronger mage than him, and it wasn't hard to break down the mental shields.

_"How could I have done this? I killed my own children. I have never been there for them like I should have been. They deserve better than me. I'm just scum and should have died years ago. A boy without a father shouldn't be a father."_

"SHUT UP!" Kelly turned and saw Jared looking at him, both looking at the other with an expression of complete horror. Kelly because he hadn't expected the outburst nor that Jared would be hearing his thoughts, and Jared because he had heard thoughts like this before and it only ended it tragedy.

"Huh?" But they had opened Pandora's Box, and Jared was losing his temper.

"I am sick and tired of all of the self hatred! Yes, you've made mistakes. I didn't tell you who those people were, and I'm sorry about that, but that does not make you a bad parent! IS THERE EVEN _ONE_ CARPENTER WHO ISN'T DEPRESSED!? Zoe was abused and cut, Eden has nasty postpartum depressed, and Joselyn—" He sucked in a breath, "And _you_ are all kinds of damaged!" This had been bottled up and had been coming for a while. Kelly was stunned into silence and didn't fight when Jared squeezed his shoulders firmly,

"No, I don't understand what you feel right now, because I do not and I swear to god_ will not _have children of my own. But your children love you, especially Zoe. Nobody's perfect, and if you had been perfect, they wouldn't have been the brave women they are now. We will save Joselyn, and trust me when I say Godkiller is _nothing_ like Zoe. And who cares if your father wasn't in your life? What matters is that your children have their father. I'm not asking you to pull it together, I just need you to know that this version of your kids wouldn't blame you for that."

Kelly was silent, and the gold flower fell out of his limp hand, which made the illusions vanish.

They just stared at each other for a moment, with complete silence utter than heavy breathing. Until Kelly started bawling.

When Zoe had asked him to check on her Dad, he did not expect to be in a magic pavilion reassuring the sobbing man. Wasn't like he could really do much in this situation other than just let Kelly cry, because this was thirty years of insecurities exploding out of the bottle.

Eventually, Kelly calmed down and wiped his eyes.

"T-Thanks…" he was still clearly embarrassed at the crying outburst.

"No problem?" He shrugged, "Ya good now? Can we go back?" Kelly nodded quietly,

"Yeah." Jared sighed in relief, but paused when Kelly grabbed his wrist, "Jared, I need to ask you for a favor."

"Uh…sure?"

Kelly smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, "I got a message from Sam, about killing Iku. There is a chance I will take Joselyn's place to save her life. If I'm gone, I need you to look out for the girls, especially Joselyn. Promise me that."

Jared was stunned. Why would Joselyn have to die to kill Iku? But Kelly had his mental shields up to hide that information. He decided to dive into the elder mage's mind when he least expected it. But he was being asked to look out for Joselyn, and he was doing that anyway.

"I promise."

"Thank you."

Jared couldn't sleep that night though, seeing Kelly in a new light. He should have known a Carpenter that didn't have self-esteem issues was too good to be true.

He paused from his musings when he felt a tiny hand on his arm, and Joselyn was looking at him. Quantic Jared was sleeping still with his back to his psychic counterpart.

"Hey Jos," he sat up, "What is it?"

"I had another nightmare that Iku hurt you." Joselyn said quietly, "I needed to make sure you were okay. I'm sorry if I woke you up." Jared smiled,

"Joselyn, I'm okay. And I wasn't sleeping anyway." Joselyn smiled, curling up with him. It was still painful that he could feel her ribs through her hoodie.

"Can I stay here with you?" She asked, "I don't want to hurt you, but Gizmo's hair is hogging our tent." He chuckled,

"You're not going to hurt me. Tell you what, if Iku starts waking up, I'll squirt you." Joselyn giggled and he ruffled her hair, "Holy water and vinegar, not a good combination." She made little noises as she adjusted her sleeping position, and then was out like a light.

When Jared thought about it, he didn't know what Kelly felt, because he wasn't a father. But he did know that he would die for Joselyn with little to no hesitation, so he could understand at least a little.

He brushed away a strand of Joselyn's hair out of her face.

"Everything is going to be okay, Jos." He promised, "I'm going to make sure of it. No matter what."

**A/N: Little more focus on Kelly, and the start of a whole lot of walking and Quantic Jared being by far the most innocent of the group.**

**And as always, remember to review for Cheeto.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: The Council of Deaths**

Gizmo was having a lot of fun as they hiked along. Day three of hiking was going well—now that they were off of the established hiking trails, they could relax a bit more.

"I would have thought that you or Jared, psychic one, would have brought music to play while we're hiking," Gizmo commented to Joselyn as they scrambled up a rocky slope. She paused to turn around and used her prehensile hair to give Quantic Jared a hand up. "To boost the mood or whatever."

Joselyn snorted, though Gizmo didn't quite understand why. "To boost our energy, you mean? I thought about it, but there would be no way to recharge, and I get squirted so often it would inevitably short circuit. And that equipment is expensive. It would be too easy to lose something out here." Her foot slipped on a rock and she swore as she caught herself. "Or it would get broken while we're hiking."

"Yeah, I guess that's smart. " Gizmo used her hair to climb over another pile of broken stones and glanced upwards, to where Psychic Jared sat perched at the top of the pass, waiting for them all to join him. Ahead of them but not quite so far up, Zoe and Kelly floated upwards, gliding over the broken rocks.

A minute later, Gizmo had made her way up the uneven slope, somersaulting to the ground next to Zoe moments before Joselyn reached the waiting group. She grinned at her friend, doing a little dance in victory.

The wind picked up as they moved forward. Gizmo had to spit a strand of her hair out of her mouth when one strong gust blew half of her pigtail into her mouth.

By the time they finished moving through the pass, Gizmo's leg was starting to cramp up and her cheeks were frozen. They all let out a cheer as the narrow path opened up to sky and fields.

Those cheers cut off as they realized this side of the mountain seemed to be a sheer drop-off.

Heartless darted ahead, flying above the drop-off and then spinning back to regard it. After a moment, her expression brightened. "There's a path! It's really narrow and dangerous, but it winds along over here, see?" Sure enough, a narrow path clung to the face of the cliff. Some sections had crumbled away to almost nothing while others were partially obstructed by small rock falls. It would be all too easy to trip or miss a step and go plummeting straight down.

"We will not be hiking down," Kelly announced, to their great relief. "I can see where the trail leads, and where our next landmark is. We'll go straight there." And then they were at the next landmark as Kelly had teleported them. He fell to his knees and a trickle of blood dripped down his nose, but he was okay.

"That'll take another day off of the journey." Psychic Jared said, "We're getting closer faster than we thought." Joselyn nodded. There was a spike of excitement, followed by a spike of anxiety, deep in her gut.

She wanted to get to the temple and get the stone so they were one step closer to killing Iku. But what if it didn't work? Or what if the stone killed whoever touched it?

"My legs are dead," Kelly groaned as he climbed into a standing position. He staggered a few steps as blood continued to trickle from his nose. "I don't know if I'll be able to walk right away. Can we have lunch early?"

"You'd be able to eat after that?" Quantic Jared asked dubiously. "I think I'll need a minute. Or twenty."

Kelly laughed. "We'll likely be doing a number of crossings like this. It's faster and that one alone took a day off the trip."

They took a lunch break, then hiked for the rest of the day, until Gizmo's calves were aching. They stopped in front of a gaping opening in a cliff next to the trail.

Gizmo grinned and dashed into the cave. She hadn't camped in caves before, just under trees and in junkyards. The floor was unusually even and the ceiling was high enough for her to stand almost all the way back. It wasn't a deep cave either, there was enough space for them and their tents with a bit of space to spare for their cooking area, but that was it. Some areas were mossy, but it was mostly just exposed rock. A couple short stalactites clung to the ceiling.

"We'll want to go to bed soon." Kelly said, "We have another full day of hiking again tomorrow."

"Coming!" Gizmo called, figuring her tired legs could wait to rest until they were eating. She trotted over, grabbing her backpack from the pile with her hair and hauling it over to where she wanted to sleep.

Gizmo wasn't really asleep when her hair took up the entire tent, she just wanted Joselyn to get more comfortable around Psychic Jared, and know that Iku wasn't going to hurt him, so she was content hogging the tent from her friend.

OoOoO

They woke up to rain.

Sheets and sheets of rain poured from the sky, pattering against the rocks and running down the cracks and gorges. There was a new stream running down the path, weaving around the rocks and gurgling along.

"Well, it's a good thing we decided to camp in this cave," Zoe commented. "I don't think we'll be hiking today."

"But what will we do, then?" Quantic Jared asked. "Just stay in the cave the whole time?"

"We could take advantage of the rain and shower," Kelly suggested as he peered out at the pouring water. "We all brought swimsuits, right? And the rain will be a bit colder than a shower would be, but it wouldn't be awful."

Gizmo shivered just thinking about going out and getting soaked on purpose. It wasn't as though it was particularly warm outside, and then getting wet on purpose? They were in the middle of a mountain range in a part of the country that was already pretty high above sea level, and it was cold. But Kelly had a point, they could wash now, so they probably should.

Besides, they had collected some bits of wood that were outside in case they wanted a fire, so they could get that started and dry around that afterwards.

"I'll go change," Gizmo volunteered before people could start groaning about Kelly's idea. "A wash sounds great."

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, Gizmo, but we should probably eat breakfast first," Joselyn said with a laugh. "...but I suppose you could change while we get things heated up. Who all is going to wash up today?"

Gizmo raised her hand. Kelly wasn't far behind. Psychic Jared ran a hand through his hair, then winced and raised a hand.

Zoe was always clean thanks to her magic, so she was good. Joselyn looked less than convinced, though her own hand went to her hair as well.

"If we have to share a cave all day, you're going to wash just like the rest of us," Zoe told Joselyn and Quantic Jared. "I'll start heating up towels."

It didn't take long for them to eat a hasty breakfast and then change into their swimsuits so they could head out and take advantage of the rain before it lightened. As she stood in the front end of the cave, with her many pounds of hair getting soaked, Gizmo found herself regretting her decision to wash in the rain.

No one else looked any more eager. Except, of course, for Kelly. He was humming quietly as he rubbed a bar of soap over his hair in the middle of the downpour, completely indifferent to the cold. Even Psychic Jared looked a bit apprehensive.

"Well, we're not going to get any warmer standing here," Joselyn said after a minute. "The sooner we wash, the sooner we can get in, change back to normal clothes, and warm up." She pulled her towel off of her shoulders and grabbed her own shampoo and conditioner before heading out. Her slight wince when the rain hit her shoulders was barely visible.

Kelly chuckled as he walked back towards the cave entrance, shower finished. "Go on, now. We don't know how much longer the rain will last. If you wait too long, it might lighten up and then you'll have to deal with soap in your hair."

Grimacing, Gizmo dropped her towel and grabbed her soaps. With her shoulders hunched, she dashed out into the rain and immediately let out a squeak of surprise.

Joselyn giggled as Gizmo frantically ruffled her hair to get it all wet as fast as she could. "It's nice to see you out."

Gizmo couldn't respond. She was too busy frantically scrubbing shampoo into her hair. All she wanted was to finish her wash and get back in the cave, next to the fire Kelly and Zoe were now tending. A few feet over, Psychic Jared was scrubbing through his hair.

"I'm glad that I cut my hair before we left," Joselyn said, "If my hair had been its normal length, it would be a pain to try to get all of the soap out."

"Yeah, you did take a bit off, didn't you?" Gizmo commented. Joselyn's hair was now in a pixie cut, instead of tumbling past her shoulders. It looked cute on her, and also removed a bit of her feminine look, and the tomboy shone through better.

"I brought scissors along in case anyone needs a trim while we're on the trip," Zoe told them, sending Psychic Jared a pointed look. She pressed a cup of steaming tea into Gizmo's hands. "I'm no stylist, but I promise not to mess things up so badly that a hairdresser couldn't straighten it back out in a single haircut."

Once his tea was finished, Gizmo headed back to hers and Joselyn's tent to change back into dry clothes. She emerged after a minute, hanging her swim suit up on a line with the other wet swimsuits before re-joining the group around the fire.

"Wha—?!" Quantic Jared's eyes were wide and Joselyn froze, looking down at her exposed forearms. Everyone had been ignoring the word on her arm, but the more innocent of the two Jareds hadn't even seen it yet. He was staring at it, before bringing the young girl into a hug. He then glared at all of the others as though he thought they were involved in those scars on her body.

"Um…Chipmunk? Can you let go. I'm okay."

"Tell that to the scars on your body. What did they do to you?!" Psychic Jared looked ready to argue, but Zoe stopped him from throttling his counterpart.

"Nothing!" Joselyn snapped, "This is part of why we're on this quest. I was torturing the demon that shares my body. You've met Iku." Quantic Jared held Joselyn's forearm and looked ready to vomit at the word carved into her skin. Joselyn took her arm back with a furious flush.

"You did that to yourself?!"

"Yes." Joselyn crossed her arms, "We established that." She got up and stormed into her tent. Zoe glared,

"Good going, you got her upset." She turned to Gizmo, "Go check on her." Quantic Jared just gaped,

"_Why_?!" He asked after a moment, "Why would she—"

"Iku." Psychic Jared replied, "Look, with this family, if you don't know, say nothing. And now I have to go check on her and make sure she doesn't have another episode." He got up and Quantic Jared tried to become as small as possible.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't know." Zoe assured, looking through her backpack, "Oh, hey, here's a bag of rice," She tugged at it, only for the thing to not budge, so she set her feet and yanked. The backpack came off the ground as she lifted the bag. She groaned, "If you want to be helpful, you can help with this.

Together, the two of them wrestled the rice bag free without ripping it. Kelly smiled when they brought it over.

"Ah, so that's where that went," he mused aloud. "I did wonder. We still have a couple cans and a block of cheese unaccounted for, but I think Gizmo ate that."

"Well, my legs appreciate the break," Quantic Jared said shakily as they sorted through their clothes. "The hiking up and down-hill is really hard on them."

"And that's what we're going to be doing for most of the rest of the trip," Zoe pointed out, "Just think about how great your legs will look when we get back, though! Just in time for pool season!"

"Yeah, except I've already been to the pool this year, and people are going to notice if I suddenly have calf muscles that are out of this world." He picked up a shirt, sniffed it, then made a face and tossed it in a different pile. "And I need to get back to MIT soon, because I have a test coming up and I was not expecting to add 'be kidnapped' to my to-do list this week."

Kelly wrapped an arm around him, "Welcome to being kidnapped by the Carpenter family, where you're gonna always be in danger, have a kid dumped on you, and potentially get laid." Quantic Jared brightened,

"Can you seriously make that last one happen?" Kelly winked,

"We'll see, Chipmunk. We'll see."

OoOoO

Meanwhile, at an ominous looking table, seven figures were at the table, with one on a platform above. Six of the seven were arguing, while the seventh was very clearly bored. The one above groaned loudly,

"Shut the fuck up, everyone. This meeting of the Council of Deaths can now commence."

"What about?" The first person asked. He had light blonde hair to his waist, and it was full of pink flowers. He also wore a pink flower crown, the flowers mostly on the sides and back of his head, thickening as they went back and a vine in the front. He wore a pink robe with a green, long sleeve shawl that fell off his shoulders. His footwear consists of a sandal-like item. Surprisingly, this was not Mother Nature, rather her successor, Micah.

The one above was the judge, who was a young man with brown hair and your typical judge robes. He confirmed all of the decisions made by the council.

"Iku is awake, and the Worldbender family is searching for the Negojre stones."

"What?!" All seven were shocked, except for the smallest of the group, who still had her hood up.

"That's impossible!" Another member stood up. She was tall, slender, and powerfully built, with pale skin, chocolate-brown hair and soft brown eyes. She was extremely thin, but they all knew she was considerably strong. She was wearing a violet and dark red gown from a thousand years prior, which gave her a very royal aura. She was Freya, Lady of the Lake and Guardian of the Fae afterlife.

"Doesn't matter." The largest, most imposing of the group, said in a Russian accent, "It isn't likely they will get to my stone, let alone live to use it." His bottom half was that of a goat, and the top half human, except his chest was sunken in enough to reveal his ribs. For the most part, his human half just looked very ill, other than the large horns on his head. Fortunately, he wore a tattered black robe that partially covered his chest, but his forearms were completely exposed. The fur on his legs was pitch black and his skin was a light bluish-purple. He was Cradh, Guardian of the Planeswalker afterlife. He was older than all of them combined—including judge—and was more powerful than pretty much anything, so if he said something, it passed.

"The thing is," the Grim Reaper said. He was just a guy in a black coat, and was in charge of humans, "we might have to let them. Iku is a major problem, and if she merges with Vita—"

"Silence!" Cradh ordered, causing Grim Reaper to scramble out of his seat with a squeak.

"I'm with Cradh." Another member said. He was a masculine form, but made entirely of black sludge. He was the Empty, Guardian of the Afterlife for angels and others who's soul vanished forever—so whoever killed Iku would fall into his care unless prevented by another on the council, "What does that have to do with us? We simply care for the souls already dead and have very little sway on the mortals."

"Judge," the sixth member asked. She had a latino-looking appearance, with fair skin, light freckles, long braided red hair, and amber eyes. She wore an orange and brown dress with amber curl shoes. She was Fawn, Guardian of the Animal afterlife, "Are you saying we need to meddle?"

"I don't know." Judge said, "But we all know the stones are dangerous in the wrong hands. Two of them are being used by Kelly Carpenter and Jared Brock—"

"Which Jared Brock?" Micah asked, "There are at least ten in the timeline we refer to alone. And we know one of them from a different timeline has traveled to this timeline. So which one is it?"

"The one that got dragged into the Carpenter bullshit."

Freya laughed, "That doesn't tell us anything. If I didn't know better, I'd say Jared and Zoe were Carranum with how they always end up paired together and getting dragged into Carpenter bullshit. And even for the one Jared who doesn't have a Zoe since she's a Worldbender, she still found him and dragged him into her bullshit." Judge groaned loudly, taking a bite of a turkey sandwich and displayed an image of the Jared he was referring to on the table.

"At least he's a reasonable choice." Fawn said, "Can you imagine what would happen if he was chosen for Cradh's stone, plus his Totem Armor and worldsoul powers?" Even Cradh shuddered a little at the idea.

"However, Kelly is extremely dangerous too." Grim Reaper said, "With Pikko's Lingering Will living within him, a fragment of Freya's stone, and the entirety of Fawn's stone. Not to mention they can call us in their time of need. So it stands to reason we will have to get involved. We also need to prevent them from getting too strong. One day on Dominaria will have the stone wielders more powerful than even Cradh."

"The same could be said for Iku." Empty said, "If the child takes Iku to another plane or another world, she will become unstoppable."

"As long as her spark ignites, I don't really care." Cradh muttered just loudly enough for the rest of the council to hear.

"You should care." Freya replied, "The stones so far have had vessels who are pure of heart—no matter what Jared would tell you—but Cradh, your stone is by far the most dangerous on its own. We need to ensure they make the right choice there."

"If you're all so worried about it, perhaps we should send down the one with that power and shares a friendship with this family." He turned to the one member of the council who hadn't lowered her hood or spoken, "What do you say, Morrigan?"

The girl lowered her hood, and in her true form revealed herself to be none other than the should-be-dead Morrigan Blackwell.

"How long has it been since I abandoned that name?" She asked rhetorically. Micah brightened,

"Mor, you are one of the only people who could sway them. Besides, unless things change, they are in your domain." Morrigan held out her arm so Raven settled down.

"For the Phantom Queen," Empty muttered, "You are quite gentle." Morrigan narrowed her eyes,

"Shut it you. I still know you are the one to blame for the two-thousand pounds of eggo that were lego'd on everyone's head last council meeting."

"It makes sense." Freya said firmly, "Morrigan has already given them information as per the requirements of a favor, and she is the only one of us to have not created her stone."

"I suppose you're right." Grim Reaper said, "Mor?" Morrigan was silent, before looking up with an expression of grim determination.

"You wish me to act as a guide behind the scenes." They nodded, and Morrigan got up, "Alright. But they mustn't find out my identity. Kelly would never forgive me, and Iku would use my lack of stone to her advantage."

"We'll keep it a secret." Fawn promised, "Good luck, Mor."

Morrigan sighed, walking out of the room with her Familiar by her side.

**A/N: So Morrigan's death was faked. Take guesses on how she's alive, because the Spears of Gungnir can kill literally anything.**

**And remember to review to feed the author kwami!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Because happiness for longer than a week? What's that?**

The Lost City was truly stunning.

A clear blue stream meandered through the middle of the valley. The emerald green meadow sloped up gently towards the edges, turning into forest before they sloped upwards abruptly in a circle of rolling foothills, merging into several mountain peaks. The grey-blue sky coordinated with everything around it beautifully.

The ruins looked like a lost city, but it didn't take long for them to identify the magical signature on one particular building.

"We can set up camp by that orchard over there," Kelly told them, pointing as he headed that way. "There's a stream that runs nearby, and we can refill our water there."

"The ruins are really cool as well, seeing the remnants of the architecture." Quantic Jared piped up. "And is that a graveyard?"

"I did mention there was a battle here, right?" Kelly reminded him, "There were heavy casualties." They reached the orchard and started putting up tents.

"We'll have dinner cooking soon," Zoe told them, "And then Psychic Jared and Dad can practice reciting the spell and summoning those badass sword things."

"I've been working on memorizing it every night. Well, almost," Psychic Jared corrected himself when Zoe gave him a doubtful look. "Every night when we weren't completely exhausted, I tried to get a section memorized." Kelly pulled out the journal,

"Well, time to practice some more."

OoOoO

Jared didn't know where he was, but he did know something was horribly wrong.

They were in a castle of the sort, with black stone and the occasional violet decorations. Joselyn was battling Kelly…or something that looked like Joselyn, as her eyes were complete orbs of golden light.

"LET HER GO!" Kelly roared, summoning the sword he had used to unlock the Chamber of Waking and battling his daughter, who held a much more malicious sword with a spiky, black guard resembling demonic wings, a horned, demonic head just above the handle, two barbed shafts, and teeth resembling a battle axe split into three almost claw-like protrusions. Its shaft and head were adorned with several twisting, silver patterns

"She's gone, foolish mage!" The voice that came from Joselyn's mouth was not Joselyn's, rather something much darker, neither male nor female, but sent a shiver down Jared's spine, "In a nightmare not even you can break through!"

"Trapping her in a nightmare?" Kelly smirked, flipping over Joselyn with agility Jared had no idea the man could possess at his age—regardless of eternally looking twenty, Kelly was like fifty at this point, "Unlucky for you, I'm what nightmares fear!"

And then Jared woke up with a scream. He looked down and saw Joselyn making little noises until she woke up completely.

"Jared?" She blinked, looking scared, "Did I hurt you?" It was a reflex for him to pull her closer, to know she was safe.

"You didn't do anything." He reassured her, "I just had a nightmare. Nothing for you to worry about."

"Okay…" she frowned, "I don't think I can go back to sleep."

"Me neither." They both crawled out of the tent, careful not to wake up Quantic Jared, and they were surprised to see Kelly already awake. He turned,

"It's like two in the morning. What are you doing up?"

"I woke up early and neither of us could fall back asleep," Jared told him, shrugging. "So we got up."

"Understandable. I don't blame you. Nerves can wake people up early." Kelly got some water heating for coffee—because they all needed coffee, and Kelly had reality warping powers to make that happen. "Even anticipatory nerves."

Jared smiled and nodded, but it seemed a bit pasted on. The corners of his mouth drooped back down once Kelly's back was turned, and Joselyn snuggled closer, concerned.

It didn't take long for Kelly to get some coffee made and passed it out for them to drink. Joselyn took hers gratefully, sipping at it carefully to make sure she didn't burn her tongue. Jared was more cautious after the hot cocoa, looking at his cup suspiciously and glancing over at Joselyn's father.

"It won't make you fall asleep again," Kelly assured him. "It's just coffee. Once you're up, you might as well be properly awake so as to be productive."

Jared nodded and started sipping.

Just as they were finishing up breakfast, Zoe emerged from her tent and headed over to talk to her Dad.

Mid-morning, both Gizmo and Quantic Jared emerged from their respective tents, yawning widely. They settled down on a couple rocks around their cooking area, blearily munching on the leftover flatbread from the previous night.

"Okay," Zoe walked over to where Psychic Jared and Kelly were reading the journal to get this spell right, "Ready?" They both nodded and stood up, walking to the ruins and holding out a hand each. Kelly summoned his sword, and Jared did too, taking a moment to look at it.

The design of the sword followed the Lady of the Lake's water theme by being reminiscent of cresting waves, both along the shaft and at the teeth. Also, a peridot star appeared at the top of the shaft within a black circle, surrounded by the cresting wave. The handle was an ivory color.

"Unlûcan wægn hêahreced ge lettan ûs of pro icofersêon êower full−medeme hnifol, unhelian ûs of pro ic dôð Negojre cleac!"

Joselyn watched as Jared and Kelly floated off the ground, eyes changing to the rainbow color, and thrust out the swords, creating two beams of light

And then the light exploded.

Just like before, the ruins lit up and started shifting and revealing its true form.

The temple was set in the midst of large grassy plains and hills. When one reached the temple, there were rough stalagmites sprouting from the ground. The castle's architecture is very remarkable, with its tower's tops resembling an interesting isosceles triangle, and a noticeable monster with horns on the center of the castle. Two smaller parts of the castle, lying on floating islands were joined to the main structure by chains.

"Woah…" Quantic Jared breathed, "It's beautiful."

"It is." Gizmo agreed, skipping in happily.

They found the Amethyst after climbing literally thirteen flights of stairs. Needless to say, they were all kind of dead after that.

"Why…" Zoe exhaled, trying to catch her breath, "Thirteen flights of stairs! WHY?! That's just an unnecessary cruelty!" Gizmo had walked up with her hair, so she didn't care, taking pictures of the stone and scanning it.

"So am I touching the thing or…" Kelly grabbed Quantic Jared,

"Nope, it's him. I don't trust you and your prehensile hair with the ability to manipulate the periodic table." Quantic Jared decided to fight him,

"No…I won't…I have a life!…"

"No you don't." Kelly said, grabbing the squirming young man and dragging him to the stone. The original plan had been Gizmo, but they trusted this version of Jared more than her, because they knew a good deal could have Gizmo turning on them.

"This isn't gonna hurt, is it?" He asked, relaxing his struggles, still winded from the thirteen flights of stairs he had been dragged up.

"I…hope not." Quantic Jared froze, but it was too late as he'd touched the stone.

For the most part things just were glowing, and then Quantic Jared literally burst into flames.

"Holy fuck!" Zoe's eyes widened. Joselyn threw out her hand and put out the flames.

Quantic Jared was completely unharmed, but was quite shaken.

"What the hell was that…?!" Kelly bit his lip,

"Oh yeah…did I forget to mention spontaneous combustion was one of the side effects?"

"Wha…" Quantic Jared fainted. Psychic Jared blinked,

"Wow. I'm relieved to have slept through my process. Can we head back now?" Gizmo nodded, looking at the lump of rock that used to be an amethyst,

"Fascinating!" Zoe pulled out her phone,

"Okay, I'm using my powers to bring the jet to us. One down, three more to go."

OoOoO

"JARED!" Joselyn woke up screaming, and began to cry. They were in the jet, Quantic Jared was still passed out, and Gizmo was sleeping in her hair. Zoe and Psychic Jared were out keeping watch and Kelly was fine tuning the jet. She had had another nightmare of the night she hadn't been able to keep Iku at bay and Jared got hurt, only it wasn't a coma in that nightmare.

Kelly ran in, "Joselyn?" He sat down with her, holding her close, "You okay?"

"I had another nightmare." She said quietly, weeping, "I need Iku gone."

"I know, Jos." Kelly stroked her hair, "Hey, when Zoe got nightmares when she was little, I would sing and she was out like a light."

"I…I'd like that." She curled up with her father and listened to his voice, the gentle presence becoming very relaxing even after a terrifying nightmare.

_"__Sleep soundly safe in my heart_

_You no longer have to face the evil in the dark_

_Just rest your mind, and leave your pain behind_

_Remember fondly, of a time when the world was so bright"_

Joselyn tried to remember a time like that, and her mind flashed to the singular good year of her life. The year after the war but before Iku, she'd had her family and held no fear of hurting them. She continued to cry, only this time in longing.

_"__You've fought so bravely, my dear_

_And so you can rest for now, _

_there's nothing left to fear_

_Fighting onward, you dreamed unreachable things_

_But now your dreams carry you_

_to a place where these things come true"_

She could feel her eyelids becoming heavy, and her father's voice lulling her to sleep. There wasn't any terror to sleeping, she knew she was safe. She knew her Dad had wiped out millions with just a thought, but that had been the war, and she just couldn't imagine that being him right now.

_"__I'll hold your hand while you sleep_

_So don't be afraid, I won't let shadows touch your dreams_

_Maybe in time, we'll leave this all behind_

_We'll look up skyward, and the stars, they will shine in your eyes"_

Joselyn smiled, closing her eyes and letting sleep and dreams of this mess being over claim her, but not before hearing the final verse.

_"__Promise, you'll wake up in time_

_When you awaken I will be there by your side_

_There's a person, he'll fix the broken mistakes_

_I'll find him and journey on, _

_I will save you, whatever it takes."_

"Him" was Jared, Joselyn could tell. She dully wondered who "Him" had been for Zoe, before realizing it was probably Eli. That was the last thing she thought about as she drifted off into a slumber full of happy dreams.

Kelly smiled, looking down at his youngest daughter. Since that was Zoe's favorite lullaby, he had added some of his mind powers and turned it into a siren song designed to lull anyone who hears to sleep.

Emilie had wanted to try having a kid with him, as their "try again" for parenting, because neither of them had been there 100% for their children. Kelly was all for it and they had started trying, but even if it was too late, Kelly was satisfied with the three girls he had. Joselyn was going to grow into a fine young woman, just like her sisters.

He was going to protect his family, vanquish Iku, no matter the price.

_"__No matter the fate I may face"_

He got Joselyn comfortable, wrapping her in a blanket and putting a pillow under her head, before walking outside to Zoe and Jared. He quietly mused who would be the first to hear the final line in the lullaby, because anyone who heard the song was asleep before that line.

"The kids are asleep. They won't be waking up until morning, so if we want to fly back to Paris now, we can."

"How did you manage that?" Jared asked, "Joselyn has nightmares, and Gizmo's ADHD is practically insomnia." Zoe rolled her eyes,

"You sang that lullaby you used to sing to me, they both heard it, and they're out cold?" Kelly nodded. Jared walked into the jet and smiled at Joselyn fast asleep with a dreamy smile on her face. That certainly was a first in a very long time.

Kelly cradled his youngest daughter, holding her hand and fell asleep minutes later, leaving Jared and Zoe the only ones awake. He decided to walk into the cockpit where Zoe was and sat in the co-pilot seat.

"Ready?" She nodded,

"Yeah. I'm ready. The flight will be roughly eleven hours, so if we leave now, we should make it back before everyone at home finishes dinner." He had forgotten about the seven hour time difference, meaning the kids were probably waking up right now and getting ready for school.

Zoe got the plane flying and did so without any issue. Jared had the squirt bottle just in case Iku decided to try crashing them again.

By the time they got back to Paris, the sun was setting. Gizmo was the first out, off to go greet MurderBot while the others went to go eat.

Relieved did not describe Jared's feelings when he saw Joselyn jump out of the jet, looking more refreshed than she had in at least a year. Apparently Kelly's lullaby was a miracle disguised as a song.

Quantic Jared was being carried by Zoe. He'd been complaining of horrible pains and a burning feeling, so they were taking him to the hospital to ensure he wasn't dying or something.

"Mommy!" Danielle toddled down the steps and ran to Zoe, "Who's the guy?" Eli looked at Quantic Jared and sighed,

"You found another Jared?"

"Yeah." To the surprise of everyone who had just arrived, Kagami—the one from Blight—ran down the stairs, her eyes red and puffy like she'd been crying.

"Jared!" Jared turned,

"Kagami? What is it?"

"You need to get back to Blight, now!" Jared grabbed his friend's shoulder,

"Kagami, calm down, what's going on?"

"It's Gina."

OoOoO

One hour later had everything falling apart.

"Given that the only fingerprints on the weapon were hers," Kagami said tearfully in the morgue, "Gina's death has been classified as a suicide."

When Jared had run in, he had thought Gina was just hurt. He did not expect to see his friend in the morgue with a bullet in her head. Suicide. God, Jared was sick of it. He'd been so busy trying to keep Joselyn from killing herself that he didn't even notice Gina was ready to kill herself!

Zoe had made a joke that she could pull a Shawn Spencer from _Psych_ and call the suicide a murder and be correct for the sake of plot convenience and bullshit. So Zoe was off doing that, and Jared had seen an episode of the show out of boredom one day and knew the show had a reputation of turning literally anything into a murder, so he actually half expected Zoe to come back with Gina's killer.

And now he had to deal with mourning the friend he had never made up with after that fight, Joselyn blaming herself, and a bunch of people checking out his hot girlfriend.

A military funeral on Blight involved the body being incinerated and the ashes being buried by the President and the Admiral with a 21 gun salute and Amazing Grace played on bagpipes. Jared was glad Zoe wasn't there for even more reasons now, because it didn't matter if she was on her best behavior, she would be sinning the bagpipes.

And afterward he locked himself in his room on Blight—which meant that, as General, nobody could come in unless he allowed it—and spent his time mourning alone. Cam and Joselyn were the only ones allowed in, and even then it was only from time to time, and only after the third day.

Joselyn had sat outside the door for a few days—while Adrien half expected her to start singing "Do you wanna build a snowman?" and was a little disappointed when she didn't—but eventually got the message that he wanted to be alone and took to learning how to shoot a bow and arrow with Kelly.

Two weeks later, Jared was still alone in his room, torn up papers scattered about. Kelly had said the drawings reconnected people to the chain, and had proven it to be true, so why. Why couldn't he create a drawing of his friend and figure out what she had been thinking? Why did he have the power to literally read minds if he couldn't prevent the suicide of a dear friend. Sure, he had been pissed at Gina for her treatment of Joselyn, but he had been planning to forgive her, and he still hadn't wanted any harm to come to her. Never did he think she would…

Still, no matter how many drawings he did, he couldn't access her mind and figure out what he could have done to prevent this. Did the drawing have to be made pre-death? That sucked.

He sighed as he felt the wards go off again. From day one of training his powers, he had practiced putting wards up to keep unwanted people out—cough Kelly and Zoe cough—and just strengthened it to make them go away.

He looked back down at the photo of him and Gina, dating back about a month before meeting the Carpenters.

His mouth scrunched upward, more tears spilling down his cheek.

"Why'd you do it, Gina?" He asked the picture softly, as though hoping Gina would answer. "Did you—did you do it because of _me_?" His voice broke at the last word, running his fingers slowly through his hair and his scalp.

"You—you could have come to me, you know. You didn't have to do this—you didn't have to go through this alone. I-I know I've treated you like shit, but I still would have been there for you. I would've tried to help you. God Gina, why didn't you tell me?"

He wiped roughly at the tear-tracks making their way down his cheeks, "You're still my friend, and I still loved you." He whispered, " …no matter what."

He swallowed thickly as he remembered their last conversation once again, his last words to Gina—he hadn't spoken to her since Joselyn's attempted suicide a damn month ago—and he would never be able to change that past, regretting those words deeply. His friend died thinking he hated her. "I guess I didn't really give you much of a choice, did I? Hurt you so much the last time we spoke, that you found it easier to just..." he trailed off, not wanting to say that word out loud.

"Jared, don't blame yourself." Jared jumped, falling off his bed when he saw a woman leaning against the wall, wearing a beautiful but impractical dress. He would later say Camille would look gorgeous in that dress, but that wasn't his priority right now.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" He managed to calm the shock of a person appearing without a sound, and took a more authoritative tone, "Let me see some ID. And then you will leave."

"Why would I do that?" She asked with more sass than anyone had ever given a Blight General, "You summoned me here, so why should I leave? This is my first time in the mortal world in a thousand years." Jared glared,

"Look, I don't know who you are, but it's in your best interest to leave." The woman held her hand out, and Jared was shocked to see her summon the same blade he did while unlocking the temple.

"Are you gonna listen now?" Jared paused, interest spiking, but he still didn't believe her completely.

"Who are you?" She nodded,

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere. I am the Lady of the Lake."

"Freya, right?" Freya smiled,

"Looks like someone did his research." She sat down, "Anyway, you summoned me during a time of distress, so here I am."

"But I didn't summon you."

"Yes, you did. Otherwise I wouldn't have heard the distress signal. And you sobbing your eyes out is not what people usually do when they are fine." Jared sent her a dirty look as she continued, "You are upset about the death of Gina Vess. Well don't blame yourself."

"And why shouldn't I? I have fucking mind powers, and I still didn't see it coming! With Joselyn, I had only just gotten my powers and had just woken up from a year-long coma, and Joselyn had mental shields. But Gina didn't—" He put a hand to his mouth, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Where do you think the mind power came from? Obviously our stones are strengthened versions of a power we already have." Freya answered, "And no, Gina didn't have mental shields. But you weren't focused on her for one of the weeks, and the next week was in South America on a different world entirely. And honestly, given how the Carpenter family works, it is quite likely some version of Kelly fucked up a timeline and Gina got killed by another version of herself—hence why the fingerprints are the same—but I digress."

Jared was ignoring her, but eventually became bored by her talking, "Is there a point to this? I'm not distressed, so can you just leave now? How do I unsummon you?"

"I could leave." Freya said, "But put it this way Jared, Gina's gone, but there is a little girl who adores you, and she isn't gone. But she needs your help. You have holed yourself up in this room for long enough, so clean yourself up, shave a little, and get your ass out of here." She got up as though to walk away, before turning, "And remember Jared, if you need help, all you have to do it ask." And then she was gone.

Jared looked down at the picture. He wanted to stay alone in his room but—as much as he hated to admit it—Freya had a point. Camille, Kagami, and Joselyn were still around. Iku was still a threat. The world didn't freeze just to give him time.

So, reluctantly, he got up, cleaned himself, and left the room.

OoOoO

"You're doing so well, Joselyn!" Emilie said, watching her stepdaughter fire another arrow. Two weeks had her becoming quite the shot, just like her father. Camille was reading quietly in the corner, but then looked up,

"Jared?"

They all turned and saw Jared standing there—Quantic Jared was still struggling with his powers and dealt with the side effects, so this was the Psychic one—looking tired, but he was out of his room.

Joselyn released an arrow, hitting dead center, and turned to Jared, running up to and hugging him. He picked her up,

"I see you've learned some new skills." Joselyn nodded with a smile on her face. She still looked like she had been sleeping better.

Zoe came out, "Jared! Hey! Kagami's joining our quest for the next stone!" Jared turned and saw Kagami standing behind Zoe,

"What? I want to study these stones." She said, "And Adrien's coming too."

"We're leaving now?" Jared asked, "That's kind of fast."

"Joselyn refused to leave without you." Kelly said, "And since we kind of need to find those stones fast, we are all leaving now." Zoe tossed him a bagel,

"Eat. And now we leave. For…Australia?" She shuddered, "Fucking spider rain. Oh well, might as well get it out of the way." Joselyn hugged Jared's neck,

"For Gina. Yes, she hated me, but it was because of Iku. Without Iku, none of this would have happened. So I guess we have even more motivation to kill her." Jared smiled, seeing she was blaming Iku and not herself. That was a step in the right direction.

"Australia it is."

**A/N: Yes, the stone wielder can summon the death that created their stone. We will see more of that for actually useful information.**

**As usual, remember to review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: An unexpected reunion (and random cameo without context 2)**

Twenty hours on a flight had Quantic Jared sitting in the corner fidgeting. Joselyn was reading, Psychic Jared was drinking/napping, Kelly was drawing, Adrien was FaceTiming his kids, Zoe was flying, Kagami was watching Gizmo, and Gizmo didn't give seven shades of shit while building a small robot out of spare parts.

"Hey!" Quantic Jared laughed triumphantly, "After weeks of pain and spontaneous combustion, I finally figured it out!" Then all turned and gaped,

His skin was black.

Like coal, it seemed exclusive to his forearm, and it was like some sort of shield he was wearing underneath the most visible layer of his skin.

"Damn, Chipmunk…" Kelly said, opening and closing his right hand repeatedly, "What was that?"

"It's a technique I've been practicing." Quantic Jared explained, his forearm suddenly returning to its natural shade in patches, before it was back to normal within a few moments. "I've been practicing converting atoms…"

"I saw it happening." Kagami spoke up, "Neat trick."

"Thanks…I still haven't mastered that part of my power yet, but I've been able to turn at least the outer layer of my skin into a carbon-based shield." Quantic Jared went over, looking at his palm as he did so. As he spoke, the skin on his hand became darker as he activated his power again. "I spoke to Harrison last week because I was having trouble figuring it out, and he recommended practicing on my own body as opposed to foreign objects. Something about it being easier for my power to understand my own biology…but, it worked."

"So you can turn your skin into a stronger carbon than it's already based on?" Gizmo questioned with a smile, "That's an awesome use of your power! That gives you so much defensive capability!"

It was basic chemistry from what Gizmo understand. The human body was made out of primarily carbon, and it made up a third of the body. Carbon could be turned into many substances, from rocks to diamonds, and Quantic Jared's powers allowed him to alter carbon, and all sorts of other things from the periodic table, and he could now use it to turn his skin into a defensive carbon layer. Like a shield.

"Wow." Kagami came over, "Can you do it again?"

"Yeah." He did it again and Gizmo wrapped the hand in her hair and started scanning it with the scanning clips she had in her hair.

"At least you've gotten the hang of your powers." Psychic Jared muttered bitterly, looking towards the bag of pretzels that was floating in the corner. He himself hadn't torn up his room in depression and rage—no, that honor went to his telekinesis which was uncontrollable and tied to him emotions.

"Can you at least open the bag of pretzels?" Kelly asked. Joselyn took the pretzels and started eating them, leaving the bag floating around. She then sat next to her Dad,

"What are you drawing?" It was a drawing of seven people surrounding one person. The center figure was glowing red, and five of the seven people surrounding the figure had a glow to them a well.

"I don't know." Kelly said, "Jared had another vision and I dream-walked to observe. I'm working from memory."

"Guys, buckle your seat-belts, we are coming in for a landing." Zoe said, landing them in an abandoned area of Canberra.

"So where is the stone supposed to be?"

"Some abandoned city called Uluru." Zoe mused, "Well, I think we should go get some dinner." They all nodded and checked into a hotel, cleaned themselves, and went to a nice restaurant. Normally they would get fast food, but everything in Australia that wasn't you, wanted to kill you, so they trusted the fancy places a little bit more.

What they did not expect, was for someone to stand up and shriek,

"It's Queen Bee!" They all turned and saw Chloe go to sit at a table, with her superhero attire changed to a long dress. Zoe stood up,

"Bee?" Chloe gaped, before going over to sit with them, and her bodyguard shooed the paparazzi away.

"Guys?! What are you doing here?!"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Adrien said, "We haven't seen you since Mara! I thought you were dead!" Chloe flipped her hair that now fell down her back,

"I was fed up with your bullshit, so I moved to Australia and became a pop singer. Gained popularity after getting third place on Eurovision. Occasional spider rain is so much better than demonic siege. Speaking of which, what've I missed, and who are your friends?" She blushed in Kagami's direction. Zoe smiled,

"Well, I have three more kids." Zoe mused, "Eli is well, and I have another sister named Joselyn who is possessed by an evil enchantress, and we met our friend Jared, and Chipmunk—aka Quantic Jared—and that is an alternate version of Kagami. Adrien has triplets and is married to Marinette, and we are searching for magic stones to get rid of Iku." Chloe opened and closed her mouth in the impression of a fish for a moment, before standing up,

"Um…how about we just leave and get pizza so we can talk at my penthouse." They all nodded and followed Chloe to her massive penthouse, where she poured some drinks as everyone got into their pajamas. She detransformed and Pollen shifted into her Fae form.

"You're Queen Bee the superheroine?" Quantic Jared asked, "I always thought she was kind of stuck up." Chloe rolled her eyes,

"Yeah, I was. But you don't befriend Zoe unless she beat the snobbiness out of you."

"Do you know Alya?" Chloe raised an eyebrow,

"Yeah. Why?" Quantic Jared sighed wistfully, with sparkles in his eyes,

"She sounds amazing…"

Zoe chuckled, "As I said, Kawaii Chipmunk." Chloe smiled,

"I'll admit. Absence makes the heart grow fonder." She crossed her legs and looked to Psychic Jared and Kagami, "So tell me about yourselves."

They talked for a while, having a good time, until their food arrived. It was around then that Quantic Jared noticed a lack of Joselyn—Psychic Jared had passed out thanks to being too tired to notice Kelly bring out hot cocoa—while Adrien, Zoe, and Chloe chatted about old times, and Kelly was drawing quietly.

He got up and went looking for the little girl, opening the girls' guest room and noticed the soundproofing runes.

"WHY DO YOU RUIN MY LIFE!?" He heard Joselyn scream, and saw her looking at Iku in the mirror, "I take my guard down for a minute, and you try to attack my friends!"

Quantic Jared gaped at the monstrosity that was Iku's true form. It wasn't Joselyn with the white dress and cat mask. It looked like of like the Beldam from _Coraline_, except young and with big normal completely black eyes instead of buttons. If Joselyn could look at that _thing_ without having nightmares, she was invincible.

"But Joselyn," Iku defended, "Only when those people are gone will you realize your true potential."

"Well I don't want it." She growled, "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because you were there, Joselyn. You were my one option."

"Great." Joselyn snapped, "At least I wasn't a chosen one."

"Oh god no." Iku shuddered, in a manner that was more casual than expected, "Chosen ones are more trouble than they're worth. They cause all sorts of damage and end up crashing the economy because they are poor peasants that end up being rulers. It's actually a good thing you aren't. There are a lot of super powerful spells that require the heart of a chosen one. Eli honestly might be a chosen one, because bad luck kind of follows them everywhere."

"What?"

"Basically I'm saying it's good you aren't a chosen one, and you should kill the psychic, lest he be a chosen one."

Joselyn growled, before punching the mirror and breaking it. Then her eyes widened at the fact that wasn't her mirror, and covered it with a towel, before stripping to get in the shower to clean the blood off her hands.

Quantic Jared felt like a pervert and sat outside the door to the bedroom section, waiting until he heard her outside to open the door.

"Hey…" Joselyn turned from where she was cleaning the runes off the wall.

"Oh, hey Chipmunk." She said quietly, "This is the girl's room."

"I heard you shrieking at Iku." He replied, "And wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm…" she was about to say 'fine' but then paused, "Not fine." She started weeping, and Quantic Jared let her latch on—he was find around kids, he just didn't know what to do. While there was a fear of the monstrosity that was Iku eating him, this was just a little girl in need of help. That and he liked hugs.

Subtly, he gave her the hot cocoa, and she was asleep in minutes. But then she was sleeping on his lap, curled up against him. Maybe Joselyn just needed a hug, and maybe he'd be able to save her before her crazy family corrupted her. Then again, he was pretty scared of them.

Zoe found them, "Awww, maybe you're a Kawaii Puppy instead of a chipmunk." Quantic Jared shrugged,

"I guess. She's asleep though, and I don't want to move lest Iku eat me. I saw that thing's true form and I cannot unsee that." Zoe rolled her eyes and took Joselyn, carrying her and tucking her into bed. Gizmo was fast asleep with her limbs splayed out and her hair being used as a blanket in places where she had kicked off said blanket. And since the child-mechanic had nearly seven feet of hair, there was still hair all over the room as well.

"I've just been tucking everyone in tonight." She said, "So go to bed, Puppy. The grown-ups get to talk."

"Are you calling me a child? I'm older than you!"

"And yet you don't curse, you don't drink, are worried about school, and you are scared of dinosaurs."

"That is a very real fear!" He snapped, "And I am just as much of an adult as you!"

"Sure, sure, and I'm not a bitch." She turned, "I mean, if you want to join the big kids, then come on. But no being crabby in the morning." Quantic Jared joined the others and saw Kagami and Psychic Jared were awake now, and more than a little crabby.

"Okay, what shall we do now?" Zoe asked, "Truth or dare?" Psychic Jared groaned,

"I won't play. I'm just going to watch this crash and burn miserably, and then laugh when it's all over." Kelly summoned a piece of paper,

"We need come rules though, because there are children in the other room. Okay…you can only select truth once, no sexual dares, and truth means a full on story. And if you lie on a truth, you need to do a dare of Zoe's choosing—and I will know if you lie."

"Okay." Chloe shrugged, "Zoe, truth or dare?" Zoe pondered it,

"Truth, I'm actually curious what you will ask."

"How old were you for your first human kill?" Zoe thought about it,

"Um… Dad? Do you know the answer to that? I remember by first kill, but not my age."

Kelly laughed, "You were two. That was a dark day for my marriage." Everyone's eyes widened, Psychic Jared's in more of a "Holy shit, I was right?!" manner.

"Story, now!" Kagami demanded. Zoe giggled, "Well…"

Eighteen (Quantic) years earlier

Kelly and Maeve were at an ultrasound a week before Zoe turned three. Because the ADHD was real in this toddler, they left Zoe at home with her grandmother—or so Zoe thought, but Kelly and Maeve knew better—Millie.

Millie was watching some sort of dance show when the mail arrived. Zoe looked at the mailman through the window and noticed he was sticking his hand in the little thing in the door.

Zoe knew that man had been "a dick" to her Mommy, whatever that meant. She knew it meant not nice, and now it looked like he was trying to break in as he pounded on the door.

Toddling to the door, Zoe opened it and looked at the mailman,

"Hello child," he said bitterly, "Is your mother home? I need her to sign for this package." Zoe blinked,

"I don't know what that means. But she isn't home." She glared, using her magic to make sure this was the one who hadn't been kind to her mother, "You were mean to Mommy."

Now, this was the real first time Zoe transformed into Heartless, only she was just a toddler made of shadows, with golden eyes. She lunged at the man and attacked him with her shadow-fire. Then she changed back. Now, she was two, she didn't understand that killing people was wrong—not that she ever really learned—and dragged the body inside into the living room, closing the door behind her.

Millie jerked up, seeing her granddaughter dragging a corpse in.

"Zoe…? Why is there a dead body?"

"He was mean to Mommy. Called her a 'filthy slut' I don't know what that means, but it made her sad." Millie frowned at the corpse. She didn't like her daughter-in-law, but it was cute that Zoe would defend her mother's honor, even at such a young age.

"Well…this is gonna be fun to explain." She said, "If you weren't Kelly's daughter, I'd be worried. But you are Kelly's daughter, so get the shovel and I'll start digging a hole." Zoe giggled and ran to the garage to grab the shovel, giving it to her grandmother. Millie put some gloves on and walked into the backyard. But first, she turned,

"Okay Pumpkin," Millie said, "Just watch some cartoons and I'll be back in a minute."

"Okie Nana!" Zoe grabbed the remote and sat on the couch, her little legs not able to touch the floor. She turned on the television and looked around on Netflix, when she found a new show, _Supernatural_.

So while her grandmother dug a hole to cover up the murder done by a magical toddler, Zoe turned on _Supernatural_ and finished four episodes by the time her parents got home.

They both gaped at the scene before them, with their toddler watching something she shouldn't, with a corpse on the floor, and Millie coming in covered in dirt and ready to throw the body into a ditch in the flower bed.

"Mommy!" Zoe brightened, pointing to the dead guy, very proud of herself, "I killed the dick!"

Maeve gaped, trying her best to look pleased while she was horrified. Millie just shrugged.

Kelly was the first to speak, "So…um…Mom…why…_Supernatural_?…she's two…"

"And smarter than any two year old I've ever seen." Millie said, tying up her pale brown hair in a bun, "And I actually thought she would watch _Bob the Builder_ like a normal child. I should have known."

Maeve pinched the bridge of her nose, looking down at her daughter who was smiling innocently at her.

"Mommy, how's the baby?" She bounced on her heels, and Maeve sighed. She couldn't help but love her daughter, but the kid clearly had some issues.

"Your sister's fine. But it was a long day, so can I go take a nap? Maybe you can cook with Daddy."

"Yay!" Zoe grinned, running up to her Dad, "Can we make those cookies?"

Millie smiled, "Sure, Pumpkin."

Present Day

"I always knew you were a psychopath." Adrien said, "Just didn't know it started so young." Quantic Jared was rocking in a ball, crying a little,

"Am I next?"

"No." Zoe rolled her eyes, "Okay…Adrien, truth or dare?" Adrien smirked,

"Dare."

Zoe grinned, "I dare you to behave like a cat for the rest of the night. Dad?"

"Damnit." That was the last thing Adrien said as a person before meowing and curling up and purring. Malediktator memories, but it was funny.

Kelly chuckled, "Just had to be sure." Quantic Jared's eyes widened,

"I changed my mind! I'm a kid!"

"Too late." Zoe took a bite of pizza, "Speaking of which, it's your turn."

"I don't want to." He said, "I can see it in your eyes, you have something terrible planned for me."

"That's why we wisely decided to not get involved." Kagami muttered, gesturing to herself and her psychic friend. Zoe shrugged,

"Fine, I won't be too mean. Truth or dare."

"I don't trust you. Truth."

"Have you ever been with someone?" Quantic Jared narrowed his eyes,

"Why must you still find a way to be evil?" Zoe cackled,

"I take that as a 'no', so I don't need to ask about your virginity." He was now a bright shade of red and hiding behind a pillow. She shrugged, "Well, I took pity on you. It's your turn to ask someone. Except Adrien, he can't answer." Adrien was one of the rare Duel Affinity Fae, having power over wind and shapeshifting, so he had shifted into a black cat.

Quantic Jared thought about it for a moment, "Kelly, I really need to know something from you, so it doesn't matter if you choose truth or dare." Kelly looked up from his martini curiously,

"I'm listening."

"When did you realize your daughter was never going to be normal? Like her sanity was beyond saving."

"She was three."

Eighteen (Quantic) years earlier

Millie was teaching Zoe how to cook her shortbread. It was almost Christmas, four weeks after the murder incident. Zoe was wearing a red and green dress, with her hair in twin buns.

"Now Zoe," Millie said, "You have the main batter, and now you need liquids." Zoe went to go get some water or milk when her grandmother stopped her, "No, you need the good stuff." She pulled out a thing of bourbon.

"Nana? What's that?" She asked, standing back on her stool.

"The good stuff." Millie said, "Observe. One for the batter," she poured some booze in, then drank some, "One for the cook." She gave Zoe the bottle, "You try." Zoe took the bottle, before following the motions,

"One for the batter, one for the cook." She blinked a couple times at the drink when she tried it, "That's not good."

"Sure it is." Millie said, "I've been giving it to you on washcloths since you could swallow. Try a little more." Zoe obeyed and then smiled a little,

"It's an acquired taste."

Kelly then came in, "Mom!? _Why_!? She's three!" Millie shrugged,

"Don't be so uptight, Kelly Darling, she needs to learn."

Kelly sighed.

Present day

"That explains a lot." They all turned and saw Multiverse Jared leaning against the wall, with his hair in a bun and both Miraculouses in his hand.

Quantic Jared shrieked and it really proved that his lung capacity was impressive.

"Hey Unlucky." Zoe said casually, "Give me my Miraculous." Multiverse Jared tossed the two Miraculouses to their respective owners. Chloe, to the surprise of everyone, didn't bat an eye,

"You look like hell. Need a drink?" Quantic Jared fainted. Zoe looked at the choker,

"Why is the choker a little charred?"

"You don't want to know." Zoe narrowed her eyes,

"Why did you need them in the first place?"

"As I said before, there was an incident a few years ago in my timeline that led to something happening to our versions, and we had a new big bad to fight and needed them back." He sighed, "Can we not talk about it, I'm trying to forget."

"Like what happened to your eye?" Kelly asked, gesturing to the eyepatch. Multiverse Jared tensed,

"That among other things." He replied, looking at Quantic Jared, "Don't break me too much, Zoe."

"No promises." Multiverse Jared's eye widened when he noticed Psychic Jared's eyes go from sea-green to dull red, but then decided not to say anything. Chloe was still holding up the drink impatiently,

"No thanks to the drink. Any drink within a ten foot radius of Zoe is a drink I don't trust. Speaking of which, I've left my Zoe unsupervised too long, and we made some friends who gave her even more dangerous things to make our lives miserable with."

"You've been here for five minutes." Kagami pointed out.

"Exactly. If you've been around any version of Zoe long enough, less than a minute it too long. Those flashbacks prove it."

Kelly paused, "Why do you have a spell to strengthen your mental shields?"

"You don't want to know." And then he was gone.

"Okay…" Psychic Jared slipped on the Bear Miraculous, smiling as Viirus emerged, "So was it the Darkling's abuse or Millie's influence that fucked Zoe up more?"

"It's honestly too hard to tell." Kelly replied, "Even for me."

Zoe splashed some of her drink on Quantic Jared to wake him up.

"Wha…" he looked around, "Where did he go?! What was that!?" He started hyperventilating and looked on the brink of a heart attack. Psychic Jared groaned,

"Freya, a little help?"

Freya appeared, very cheerful, and placed her hands on Quantic Jared's temples, calming him down and then he went to go to bed.

"See, I told you that you could call me if you need assistance." She looked around, "What is this place?"

"My penthouse." Chloe replied, "And this is the moment I realized that I had been sucked back into the Carpenter bullshit. No point in even pretending to be surprised. Nice dress though." Freya looked down at her dress,

"Thanks." She looked around, before walking into the kitchen. Jared would normally have her go back to her realm, but she wasn't doing any harm.

"Wait what?" Kagami watched the girl looking at everything like a curious toddler, "Who is she?"

"Lady of the Lake." Kelly answered, "The Death who's been helping me out has a friendship with her. Her name is Freya, she's from a thousand years ago, she got cursed at fourteen after killing a man in self-defense, got killed two years later, was buried in the lake, and then resided there until she became the Guardian of the Fae Afterlife, also called Avalon."

"So she's 1016?" Chloe asked.

"Roughly." Kelly said, "But she's been with the Fae, so she probably doesn't know what any of this stuff is."

"What's this?" Freya asked, holding up a donut. Zoe grinned,

"That's a donut. Looks strawberry jelly filled." At the mention of strawberries, she took a bite, before eating the entire thing.

"What's going on?" They turned and saw Gizmo come out of the bedroom with her almost seven feet of hair dragging behind her—she was like a black-haired Rapunzel in all honestly, except her hair could have a mind of its own—rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy. Freya brightened,

"Hello Grace." Gizmo frowned,

"Grace?" Then she realized, looking down at the locket she still had around her next, "My name?" Freya approached her,

"You didn't know? Grace Alexis McAllister. " Kelly raised an eyebrow,

"Kid, you didn't know that?"

"No." Gizmo looked down at her locket, "Grace…" then she shrugged, "I like Gizmo better, but nice to actually know my name." Freya kissed her forehead,

"Go back to sleep, you need your rest for tomorrow." Gizmo nodded, walking back into the bedroom, and Freya went back to raiding the fridge.

"Get away from the Carpenter bullshit once, good on you." Chloe drawled, "Do it twice or for longer than four years, and you have to be a god."

Jared shrugged, "Welcome to the club." Kagami then looked to Adrien,

"Can someone turn him back, this is getting ridiculous." Kelly shrugged and turned him back. Kagami looked to Freya, who had a face full of marshmallows.

"Freya…there's someone I need you to find. Gina Vess. She commit suicide a few weeks ago and…"

"You want to know what she was thinking, and if she's happy now." Kagami nodded and Freya sat down, "Sadly, she's in Grim Reaper's care, so…actually that means nothing. Grim is a perpetual disappointment and a giant pussy underneath. But I actually already told Jared what happened." She patted his shoulder, "Just put the pieces together yourselves. But she is at peace, I promise you that." Just as she started to fade away—having stolen a large bag of chocolate—she said, "Oh, and Morrigan says hi." Which got Kelly's attention,

"Wait—" But she was gone.

Zoe frowned at the scene before her, "Well, something tells me our game is over. But Freya's right, we should all get some sleep. But we don't have enough beds for the girls…"

"Kagami can share my bed!" Chloe said eagerly, before blushing, "I mean…I have a couch—pullout!—that she can use if she wants, or I could take the couch or…"

"That would be great, Chloe." Kagami replied, "Thanks."

…

Freya didn't return to Avalon. She went to the old manor Morrigan had grown up in. She couldn't come to the mortal world unless invited—Cradh was an exception to this rule because nobody was brave enough to confront him about it—but Morrigan had been invited down by the council for her mission, so she had a good idea of where to find her friend.

"Mor?" She saw Morrigan sitting in her old room. Everything was dusty and untouched, with moths in some places. Morrigan was looking down at an old photo of herself, Kelly, Amelia, Harrison and Tazri. It was dated a few months before everything spiraled, before she faked her death. Freya knew she had always treasured that picture, but didn't want to grab it lest someone figure out she was alive.

Morrigan looked up, "Oh, Freya. What are you doing here?"

"My version of Jared summoned me, so I came to check on you. Why aren't you observing them?" Morrigan looked up,

"Because if I do, Kelly will figure it out." She wept quietly, "I'm not even sure he would be happy. You know how he gets when angry, he doesn't listen or see reason. If I piss him off with the revelation, who knows what could happen."

"I think his sanity will remain intact as long as you don't fuck with his kids." Morrigan chuckled,

"So Iku's fucked?"

"Yup." Freya shrugged, "Mor, maybe it's time you did tell them. They're all alive, and they are safe." Morrigan put her head in Freya's lap,

"You really think I should risk it?"

"Do you really want to piss off Cradh?"

"Yes. I'm more scared of angry Kelly than I will ever be of Cradh."

"You are braver than me." Freya replied, "But that does make me scared about what Kelly can do when mad."

"Yeah…" Morrigan sat up, "But he's still good right now, and it takes a lot to piss him off to the level of scarier than angry Cradh. So I think I'll go check on them."

"They are in Australia."

"Oh fuck." Morrigan got up, "Which one will get bitten by a deadly snake first?" Freya frowned,

"Depends on if Iku gets involved. Wanna make a bet?"

"Loser has to enter Cradh's domain uninvited." Freya paled, which was a little weird with how pale she already was.

"No, that's a re-death wish. Loser has to bring waffles to the next council meeting." Morrigan shook her friend's hand,

"Deal." She walked off, "I bet Quantic Jared without Iku, and Psychic Jared with Iku."

"I bet Adrien without and agree with you on if Iku gets involved. No getting involved, Mor!"

Morrigan turned and winked, "No promises." Then she shifted into a crow alongside her Familiar, flying off into the night.

Freya huffed and returned to Avalon.

**A/N: So Chloe's back, and this chapter was calm before all the dangerous things. And Gizmo's name reveal happened. And more about Millie, Zoe's terrible influence of a grandmother.**

**As per usual, remember to review! And you are all welcome to join the bet of who will get bitten by a snake or attacked by something first.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: This chapter is what's happening back in Paris, lots of fluff, because next chapter has the team suffering in Australia.**

**Chapter 19: Nineteen kids and counting (because the adults act like kids half the time)**

"Okay, Dani. You ready?" Eli asked his one year old daughter. Danielle was in her high chair, laughing and smacking her hands on the table. Today, she was gonna try lemons for the first time. Her pale green eyes were sparkling with excitement, that cute little smile on her face never fading, showing her tiny teeth. She was so excited, it was hard for Eli to keep a straight face. Hell, ever since he became a father, he found it difficult not to smile, especially when this baby looked at her Dad, laughed and held her arms up, wanting to be picked up.

"Alrighty." He said, holding out the small piece of lemon to Danielle's mouth. She took it in her mouth. Once her brain processed what the lemon tasted like, she made a face and spit it out. Eli laughed. He began to take to piece away before she reached her hands out to stop him.

"No?" He asked her, clearly amused. "Okay, if you insist." He held the citrus out in front of her again, said baby taking it in her mouth again before spitting it back out.

They repeated this process until Danielle finally pushed the lemon away, done with making sure her senses weren't deceiving her. Laughing, Eli threw the lemon away and picked his tiny daughter up. Danielle began laughing, kicking her legs and shaking her arms in delight. While he walked up the stairs to get her ready for a nap, Danielle was messing with Eli's hair, finding the perfectly white streaks fascinating.

He set her in her crib, and she yawned, falling asleep.

Felix came in, "Hey Dad, I need help with a school project." Eli turned,

"What is it?"

"I need to design a clay volcano, and I promised myself that I would pass school without my powers other than my intelligence, but I need help." Felix looked thirteen at this point, and Eli had expected to not need to do this for a while, but he was still perfectly happy to help his eldest son.

"Of course I'll help you."

OoOoO

Amhar was sitting on the living room floor, a warm rug under him, playing with his stuffed bunny named Mr. Fluff. Hana was on the couch, finishing up a college essay. Harrison had been tutoring her as a thanks for taking care of Eli during their time with Douglas, and she was trying to get into a cheap college. She didn't have much to offer, so she actually wanted to have a life of her own. Eden was ignoring her son still. Hana had to admit the girl she had fallen in love with was buried very deep down, so she acknowledged she needed to give Eden some space.

Amhar was making baby noises as he played with his bunny while Hana was getting more and more frustrated every minute. She could not find the word she was looking for. She sighed, shutting the laptop. Suddenly, Amhar began laughing.

Hana looked up in surprise. Many thoughts were crossing her mind. For one, that was still one of the cutest sounds she had ever heard in her life. Two, what made him laugh? The closing of the laptop? There wasn't anything particularly funny about it, but then again, Amhar was a baby and lately he found everything funny.

Amhar kept laughing. He was laughing at nothing funny to an adult, but as a baby, everything was so good and perfect he couldn't help but laugh. Plus, Hana was having a hard time lately and Amhar wanted to play. So he laughed. After a moment, Hana fondly chuckled at the baby who was basically her son. Work could wait. For now, Amhar needed Play Time.

Hana sat in front of Amhar and started making faces. Amhar laughed harder. They both loved it when she did that. Amhar just thought his caretaker was so funny when she made those silly faces. Hana loved hearing Amhar laugh, one because it was so cute, two because it reminded her of happy times in her childhood. Her father would make silly faces while her mother would hold her, laughing along with her.

Back at the present, Amhar was laughing so hard he dropped his bunny and was falling backwards. As he fell, he hit his head on the leg of the wooden table behind him. His smile was quickly wiped off his face and he started crying. Why did it hurt so bad? He and Han were just having fun and then the table had to ruin it. Hana went over to him and picked him up.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here. I'm here." He reassured the crying child in her arms. She picked up his bunny and held it in front of Amhar. Amhar stopped his crying to see his bunny before reaching out for Mr. Fluff with his hands. Tears sparkled in his sea green eyes that held such delight a moment ago. His hands grasped the toy before hugging it close, still crying.

Hana soothed him, humming Kelly's lullaby quietly—that lullaby had magic powers, as proven many times—and Amhar stopped crying, hugging Mr. Fluff close. The bunny was almost as big as he was, so it was adorable to see this tiny little baby clutching this stuffed animal.

"See? All better." She gently wiped the tears from Amhar's face. As her finger pulled away, Amhar reached out and grabbed it, that smile back on his face. Hana's chest swelled with warmth. She smiled at him. "I'll protect you, Amhar. I promise." She said, beginning to play with the child again, the essay forgotten.

OoOoO

Plagg had been back in the hospital to get his other lung replaced. He kind of missed Adrien. He was free, but he still felt like he was dying at all times.

Harrison came in, "Hey Plagg. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." He coughed, "I am really ready to not fear my lung collapsing." Harrison smiled, sitting on the bed,

"I know the feeling. I have Cystic Fibrosis. The witches gave me the best wedding gift ever and made sure it won't kill me, but it's unpleasant still." Talia came in,

"Mr. Sommers, I need to prepare him for the surgery." Harrison nodded, leaving the room.

"Hey Talia." Plagg smiled to his favorite nurse. Talia sighed,

"Plagg, I need to confess something to you." She closed her eyes, and then opened them to reveal they were pure white. Plagg jumped,

"What—?"

"Calm down." She said, "I'm a reaper. The judge sent me to keep an eye on you. Especially after the cosmic shifting." Plagg raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Am I already on the anesthesia?" He coughed and he hurt like hell. Nope. He was awake.

"It's about Iku." Talia explained, "You being revived was never meant to happen, so you have been written into the destiny of the battle coming."

"So I managed to destroy destiny." Plagg huffed, "Great."

"Destiny is never left to chance…most of the time." Talia replied, "For the most part, the council has been on a desperate scramble to set things back to the way they were. The Olukokoro Elegbe was sent by the entire council, not just Freya. So, I was sent to take care of you once they found a way to work around this." She shrugged, "Apparently the last time they dealt with something like this was Kelly, but were able to handle it early on, but when he dies again it's going to be a pain in the ass."

"So what is this?" He asked, "An apology?"

"Yeah. After this procedure, you will be able to recover without any lasting issues. But when the team returns and goes to Europe, go with them or the council has to kill you. And also, me being a reaper is why you can't speak around me, because I start reaping you if I get too close sometimes. I've gotten better at it." She gave him a shot of some sort and then put him under anesthesia.

OoOoO

Dausi was taking the kids to the carnival with Camille and Gabriel.

Aelin was looking around before grabbing her twin and dragging him off to go on a ride. Dausi smiled at the twins, before taking Amren for cotton candy, leaving Gabriel and Camille with Emma, Hugo, Catra, Gavin and Elaine. The triplets were Fae, so they looked and behaved four.

"Grandpa?" Emma asked, "Can I go play one of the games, I want to win the giant panda!" Gabriel looked to the game,

"Those games are rigged against you, munchkin." Emma winked, and her grandfather's drink started floating as she showed off her telekinesis. Well…if the game was rigged, she might as well cheat. Gavin was drawing quietly like the introvert he was, and Elaine was off talking to some of her classmates. Hugo and Catra were waiting patiently with the adults.

Dausi came back around the same time Roxas and Aelin did, "Okay, who wants to go on the swing things?" She gestured to the one ride that was very high in the air. Most of the kids cheered and ran to go, except Catra.

"Catra?" Camille turned, "You okay?" Catra shook her head, tears in her big green eyes,

"I don't want to." She said, "It looks big and scary, and I lose control of Cataclysm when I get scared." Camille smiled, picking her up,

"I'll stay down here with you." She said, "How about we go get a chocolate croissant instead." Catra nodded gleefully and the two walked off.

A few minutes later, Gabriel came back with Hugo and Gavin, "The others went again." He said, "You really are good with kids, Cam." Camille turned,

"Thanks." Gabriel then smirked,

"What are your thoughts about kids with Jared?"

"Joselyn."

"I mean biological kids." Camille rolled her eyes,

"I've thought about it, but Jared isn't really much for kids—Joselyn being then exception, probably because he could give her back if he wanted to—and knowing Zoe, she will nag him about it and he will get sterilized to shut her up. And I would never push something like that on him. Besides, there are already eleven kids running around as of now so…"

"That's fair."

Aelin came back with Roxas. She was always by her twin's side, more protective over him than anyone else.

Hugo flew down in his chickadee form, being a shapeshifter like Amren and Dausi.

"What're we having for dinner?" He asked. It was then that everyone noticed the sun was starting to go down. Amren giggled,

"Can we ask Dad and Uncle Eli to cook?"

"That's just making them suffer: a how-to."

Dausi grinned in a playfully malicious manner, "Then let's do it!" Gabriel looked to his phone,

"Alright. Get ready for explosions and pizza."

OoOoO

"Okay…" Connor looked at the ingredients for pasta—yeah, that tells you how much he knows about cooking—Eli's only real cooking skill was soup, otherwise he ate fish sticks and cup of noodles because he couldn't afford much, "Let's hope this works. We are going to make a creation! Dad tag-teaming! We will show our wives that were aren't hopeless!"

"Or die trying."

Ten minutes later

Connor and Eli were comically covered in soot next to the exploded stove.

"Did not see that coming at all." Alya said sarcastically. Connor turned,

"Hey Al, how's Nino?"

"Still traumatized into silence after Punishment Time." Alya muttered, "I am still pissed at Zoe for that." Eli decided to change the topic,

"Connor, how does one _set pasta on fire_!?"

Aelin came down, "Better than setting water on fire." Eli turned to Connor,

"Wanna order pizza and take credit for it?"

"Yeah."

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear you say that." Alya laughed. Aelin raised a hand,

"And I'm here."

"Nobody asked you." Connor snapped, "Go watch cartoons like a normal child." Aelin crossed her arms,

"Fine. But the whole time we are eating pizza, I will be judging you." Eli bent down to his daughter,

"How about I pay you twenty bucks to not even think about it so Marinette's witch powers don't pick up on it."

"Then how am I supposed to judge you?" She crossed her arms, "Fifty and I get half of the pizza up front."

"How about I get you your own pizza in secret and all the churros you could want, plus the fifty."

"FUCK YES! DEAL!" Eli decided to ignore his three year old daughter's language.

"Our little secret." He put a finger to her lips.

Dausi came down, seeing Aelin giggling, "Why do the Dads get to be the favorite?"

"Because we are willing to bribe kids to keep our secrets." Connor replied, "I may be devilishly charming and the embodiment of perfection, but I am not above bribery. There is a stairway to Heaven and a highway to Hell, and I sure as shit ain't climbing no stairs."

One hour later

Connor and Eli came upstairs with pizza, "Food's ready!" Marinette raised an eyebrow,

"You two made that?"

Eli shrugged, "Sure we did!"

"Lies." Aelin replied, eating her churros, "They ordered it."

"AELIN WHY!?" Aelin smirked in a manner identical to her mother,

"What's that thing Pops and Mom say? I'm a mercenary who works for nobody but myself."

"I want a churro!" Danielle said, and Eli groaned, walking outside as they got a free dozen boxes of churros. Bullshit powers.

Felix ran down the stairs, "Thanks for helping me with my project!" He flew to the video games, "Hey Hugo, I still need to rematch you at Mario Kart."

"Yay!"

Amelia ran in, "Guys, the surgery went well and Plagg should be back by the end of the week." Then all took a collective sigh of relief.

Amren got up, and Connor grabbed her,

"No." Amren had taken to playing a game of busting Plagg out of the hospital. Whether he was on life support or just sitting there, she loved doing it and they had almost lost him multiple times because of it.

Elaine was playing dolls with Emma, and Gavin was looking through his journal. Gabriel turned,

"Gavin? You okay?" Gavin's eyes turned completely black, and his voice became deeper and echoed through the room.

"Upon the day the curse of the one becomes the curse of another, an unfortunate tragedy shall mark an end to peace

As soon as blue turns to black, a white haired man shall cause a strengthening of bonds.

It shall be then, when ten fight together, the blackened shall bring forth a new fury and end the war.

It shall be on the day that the Phantom Queen turns bright, a vicious act shall bring a uniting of Death and an age of mercy."

"Gavin?!" Gavin's eyes returned to normal and he fell slack in his adopted father's arms. Not the first time he had spewed stuff like this, and since last time this happened, it had been warning them of what happened to Jared—Iku banishing his soul—so they knew it was time to hit the books.

Felix turned, "You guys go to the books, I'll watch the kids." Eli smiled and kissed his eldest goodnight,

"Thanks Fe." The adults all traveled to Innistrad—because Sam had all the books—and started reading the texts.

"Well…" Sam was looking through some books, "According to a couple necromancers, the Phantom Queen is the ruler of the magical afterlife, capable of being the strongest being in the multiverse, and she is also called The Morrigan—"

"Wait…" Amelia and Harrison looked up, "The Morrigan?" Then they both remembered what Regina had always called the Morrigan they knew. They looked to each other,

"Do you think Mor is…"

"No." Amelia shook her head, "She was killed by the Spears of Gungnir. Even if she's a spirit, those spears can cripple someone even in death, and can kill literally anything. No seriously, that Anti-Dausi thing could have been killed by the Spears of Gungnir."

"It's true." Eli was looking at another book, "The Spears of Gungnir are said to be able to destroy eternals, immortals, Death entities, even a Supreme Consciousness." Gabriel looked to Eli's book and saw a picture of a man impaled by dozens of spears,

"Seriously, those things are enchanted, smoldering, stuffed to the brim with magic destroying spells, _and_ laced with every poison and venom known to the Multiverse in any and all timelines?!" He shuddered, "Note to self, don't get stabbed by those things."

"Why the hell are they easy to come across?!" Connor asked. Amelia shrugged,

"They're only easy to find if you know how to do it." She said, "I know how, Kelly knows how—so Zoe probably knows how—and I know a lot of my sisters do. But the less people who know the better." She wept at the memory of those spears being used on her twin. Harrison wrapped an arm around her,

"I miss Mor too." Amelia sniffed, looking up,

"Harry, you still haven't grown the balls to go talk to your own sister. When did you even see Tazri last?" Harrison hesitated,

"Since your funeral."

"Wait, I have an aunt?" Eli asked. Camille looked less confused, because she hadn't been around for her life. Harrison nodded,

"My older sister, Tazri." Sam gawked,

"Guys, this is family communication that should have happened a while ago. But y'all came here to translate a prophecy. So can we please do that? The only reason I'm even awake right now is I ran into this world's version of Queen Bee by accident and I'm unsure I will be able to sleep without nightmares."

Sighing, they all shared use of the coffee machine and got to work.

OoOoO

Eden was at the bar with Emilie. She didn't usually want to have any part in bars, but she had been down in the dumps and needed a drink.

"Eden, are you feeling any better?" Emilie asked, looking worriedly at her stepdaughter. Eden shrugged,

"I'm just sick of everything. I've been going to therapy, and taking my meds. I shouldn't be dealing with postpartum depression right now."

"Maybe it's just your time with Vita." Emilie suggested, "Or maybe your soul didn't heal all the way. Or maybe you're just going through a midlife crisis." Eden turned,

"I'm nineteen."

"Yes, but you also died and came back from the dead. And a year of your life was as Aurora Darbonne." Eden looked to her drink,

"My whole life I thought I was straight or bi, wanted to be a doctor, and be with my family." She said, "Now I am borderline disgusted by men who aren't family, can't even look at my son, find myself madly in love with Hana, have no interest in being a doctor, and can't stand being around my family for long periods of time."

"Well," Emilie shrugged, "I think you should pursue your passion. You're still young, and dreams change. And remember that you were used against your will, so mistrust of man and lack of attachment to Amhar is reasonable. And…" she winked, "Our family is full of assholes." Eden chuckled,

"Yeah. Maybe I'm not as broken as everyone thinks I am. I've been upset because of how hard it is to behave like the Eden they know." Emilie wrapped an arm around her,

"As your stepmother, I am here to support you. Just because you're different doesn't mean I think anything's wrong with you. Just promise me you'll try to get to know Amhar, if not as his mother, then just as someone he can trust." Eden nodded,

"Thanks." She put the drink down, "I don't think I need this. But I think I need to make changes."

"Like a makeover?" Eden nodded,

"Yeah. Like a makeover!" She looked to Emilie, "Will you help me?" The look on Emilie's face was one of pure joy,

"You have no idea how long I've dreamed of hearing that from a daughter."

And so, stepmother and stepdaughter spent the night completely revamping Eden's wardrobe, getting her makeup, and getting her a haircut.

So Hana—the one adult who stayed with the kids overnight since the other adults were still trying to translate the prophecy—walked out of her room and gaped at Eden, who had a choppy bob, and her hair had a streak of dark blue through it. She wore dark makeup and wore a textured black skin-tight catsuit with knee high leather boots. Her zipper was low enough to show her cleavage without being too revealing.

Hana's mouth was agape, and Felix had to close it. Emilie went to go make breakfast,

"Doesn't she look great." Hana's eyes widened,

"She's gorgeous—I mean!" She blushed, "You look really nice." Eden smiled, which made Hana's heart take a breath of relief.

"Thanks. I think I just needed to make some changes. Dying and coming back changes you." She hugged Hana, "Thanks for being there for me while I was figuring myself out." Hana's face was turning red with a quickness.

Amhar was staring at Eden curiously, as though trying to figure out why she looked different. Eden picked him up out of his high chair,

"Hello."

Hana walked over to Emilie, "What kind of miracle witch are you?" She asked in a hushed whisper. Emilie turned to Eden,

"She just needed someone who wasn't trying to change her back to the way she was before, and I promised to help as long as she at least try to interact with Amhar. Maybe she will go back to the way she was, but as long as she doesn't hurt herself or others, I don't mind the way she is now. And judging by the red on your face, you don't mind either."

Hana smiled, "Yeah. You're right."

Hugo was standing in the doorway with Emma, "So…should we do that thing Dad and Aunt Zoe do?" Hugo pondered this,

"Shipping?"

"Yes." Amren nodded eagerly,

"I want to do that!"

Natalie—still a ghost—was sitting on the counter and only the Fae children could see her. She smiled, but also sighed,

"Hana, Eden, good luck."

**A/N: So we get to see some characters, Plagg is supposed to do things, Spear of Gungnir are OP as all fuck, and Eden is recovering. **

**Next chapter has the team back in Australia. Hilarity will ensue since less than half of them like being outdoors and even less want to be out in the wilderness of Australia.**

**See you all soon, and remember to review to feed Cheeto!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Don't go to Australia if you have a Death Enchantress with you. Or Florida…or anywhere really…but especially Australia. ****_Especially_**** is roughly half of your fighters are struggling with new powers.**

It turned out Chloe was prepared for a hike. They got in a car, drove for a few hours, and started hiking.

"So…" Kagami looked to where Kelly was creating a bow and arrows for himself, and created a blowtorch for Kagami herself, "Are the stone wielders invincible? Or can something kill them?"

"Yeah." Kelly replied, "Spears of Gungnir can kill anything, and then the auto-kill."

"Could the spears kill Iku?" Joselyn asked. Kelly nodded, and she threw her hands out, "Just do it!" Psychic Jared picked her up so they were at eye level. His gaze made her shrink a little,

"What did we say about being suicidal?"

Joselyn sighed, "Focus on getting better, don't ask for deadly weapons to be used on you." He nodded and put her down. Quantic Jared was looking at Kelly in terror,

"Auto-kill?!" Kelly nodded,

"Yeah. It's used to protect the wielders, because the Death can only revive them if they themselves did the killing. And it's also used as a punishment if the wielder's sanity goes off the deep end." Psychic Jared nodded,

"That…actually makes sense. But Freya is the only one who could do that to me, and only whoever's stone Chipmunk has can do it to him, right?"

"Wrong." Zoe replied, "A strong enough mage could do it. I actually know how to do it." All three stone wielders had a look of shock on their faces. Kelly groaned,

"Zoe…I told you about that when you were four. Why do you remember that?" Zoe shrugged,

"Well you are the one who wiped the memory of my powers, so it's in my more recent memory ever since it came back. But yeah, I could kill both of you." She gestured to the Jareds. One glared, and the other panicked. Guess which one did which.

Kagami frowned, "How does the auto-kill work?" Chloe's interest peaked, and Gizmo was listening in intently, though she was gathering fruit while in a tree.

"You see," Kelly explained, "Every magical creature has an internal fire. If you feed the fire, it gets bigger. This can cause a burnout if you feed it too much, which can kill people. Too strong a burnout can literally burn through the body. There are ways to prevent a burnout—such as diving into the well of magic for days on end before using an insane amount—or years of practice. Had I annihilated millions of enemies like I did during the war…if I had done that when I was fifteen, first of all it wouldn't have happened, and I would have burned straight through my body from the effort."

"So does the auto-kill cause the burning?"

"No. Actually the opposite." He held his hand out and an illusion of a man appeared in his palm. There was a flame inside him, "The fire can be dangerous, but is also crucial to the survival of a magic wielder. However, a stone wielder can have their fire snuffed out." The fire went out and the man lost all color in his skin, eyes, and hair, "Losing that fire kills or freezes the cells in the body, and can either cause an instant or an excruciating death."

Quantic Jared's expression was one of pure fright, "I don't wanna die!"

"And you won't." Zoe assured, "Just don't go batshit crazy. I promise I won't abuse my ability to murder you."

"Okay…"

Psychic Jared was looked around, "Where's Joselyn?"

"Up there." Gizmo pointed to the top of the tree, where Joselyn was clinging to a branch, "She said that last time you discussed fatal weaknesses in her presence, Iku put you in a coma for a year."

"Can you get her down?" Chloe asked, "That looks dangerous."

Zoe chuckled, "It's Australia. Everything's dangerous. Why do you think this place was originally used as a prison? The British would have used this place for the good people, but everything that isn't you wants to kill you."

"Fireman Gizmo to the rescue!" Zoe narrowed her eyes as Gizmo climbed the tree with her hair,

"Anyone who's played _Danganronpa_ suddenly imagined Gizmo ramming into Joselyn with a firetruck."

Gizmo climbed the tree and grabbed Joselyn in her hair, plopping down on the ground,

"When this is all over, can I run tests on your hair?" Quantic Jared asked, "You just proved it can support you and another person without strain." Gizmo nodded eagerly,

"Awesome! My goal in life is to find a way to wash this hair without it being_ a massive pain in my fucking ass_." Zoe narrowed her eyes,

"Gizmo, stick to one personality." Gizmo groaned,

"Fine." She brightened, going back to the science kid persona, "Yeah, I'm dragging seven feet of hair behind me that grows constantly. I can't cut it—it's literally indestructible, I've tried—so washing it really truly sucks." She frowned when she saw everyone gaping. She turned and screamed.

A cassowary was standing a few feet away.

There are three species of cassowary, all of which are native to Australasia. These birds are potentially dangerous and should be treated with caution and respect, should you encounter one in the wild.

Her analytical superpower—that she didn't know she had—told her this was a Southern Cassowary, which could be seen from the height alone (6 ft 6 in, meaning this fucker was taller than Jared).

As they cannot fly away from a fight, cassowaries had adapted to use their casque and claw to protect themselves and stand their ground. In a fight they will stand as tall as possible, ruffle their feathers and hiss, and lower their head to show off their casque before attacking. Not only do they make use of the casque, but their middle claw acts like a dagger, standing at 12 centimeters in length, and can cause serious damage—it's quite capable of killing a dog, and likely a scrawny child like herself or Joselyn.

While cassowaries were certainly equipped to kill, they did not seek out trouble. Quite the contrary: like most animals, these birds would much rather avoid conflict, only choosing fight over flight—regardless of being a flightless bird, so technically it's fight or run—as a last resort if they feel their lives or those of their young are endangered. Despite its reputation, the cassowary will not attack for no reason. They are quite shy creatures and would much rather avoid confrontation where possible; however, they are very territorial and defensive of their young. More often than not, the main reason for attacking is self-defense for the aforementioned reasons, as well as due to expecting food from the people who approach them.

However, Gizmo had an advantage that the others didn't. When Freya had left, she had dropped a file in Gizmo's bag. Her own.

Gizmo's power allowed her to quickly analyze her surroundings with superhuman speed, detailed thinking and ability also allowed her to learn and understand new skills and talents by just seeing or studying it once. This talent gave her an excellent ability to make very detailed plans in a short amount of time. She was also excellent at reading and thus manipulating others. She could predict what a person was going to do before they did it—an ability she can use to defeat opponents much stronger than her, and she had honestly thought this was something everyone could do. It is also this ability that threw her into boredom since she was able to accurately guess how events would play out; this fueled her love the unknown; which was the reason she had agreed to join this fool's quest.

The point was, she could see the dark magic radiating off this thing, and she could practically feel Iku smirking inside Joselyn.

Crap.

The cassowary's eyes were pure black, and it ran at Psychic Jared at a speed of fifty km/h.

"Jared!" Joselyn leapt at her friend and forced him out of the way, unfortunately making the controlled bird plow into Quantic Jared.

"Holy crap!" He shrieked as the bird stepped on his stomach, only for Psychic Jared to make the bird fall over and start flailing.

"Um…" Kagami stared at the bird doing a bird version of the worm, "What are you doing?"

"I…do not…know." He looked at it, "I tried to control it. Kelly, what's it doing?"

"Currently?" Kelly looked at it, "Contorting itself into its own ass."

"Why is it doing that?"

"Because it's being controlled." Kelly said, "So your magic is combating the magic of whoever is controlling it. Can we just put the thing out of it's misery before your powers make it forget how to breathe? It's very painful, forgetting how to breathe."

Psychic Jared watched the bird, "I can make things forget how to breathe?!"

"It's a very scary power." Kelly admitted quietly, "I killed before, completely on accident, with that power." And then the bird turned into silicon.

Quantic Jared was laying on the ground with an arm outstretched. He was gasping for breath, and Gizmo ran over.

"I think I'm dying…" Gizmo lifted up his shirt,

"Well fuck me sideways all the way to Mississippi. That is at least two broken ribs."

"Shit." Zoe came over, "I have bindings." She looked towards the setting sun, "We should set up camp anyways."

One hour later

Quantic Jared was sleeping in the tent—Kelly had hummed the magic lullaby and he was out before verse one was finished—while Zoe was cooking some animal. She honestly had no idea what she was about to eat. Food meant for camping was questionable.

"We didn't die today." Zoe said happily, "I call that an unqualified success."

Joselyn was putting on the golden cuffs. Chloe frowned at them,

"What are those for?"

"Keeping Iku at bay." She said, "She's demanding souls again." They had discovered that while the souls were sustenance for Joselyn, it was because of Iku. Put the cuffs on at night and she wouldn't "witch out" and eat one of them, and she could be sustained by normal food. Or as normal as meet that looked suspiciously like zombie flesh could be.

Psychic Jared was watching a venomous snake float around the camp. His telekinesis had brought him a snake. It wasn't doing anything, just floating there, hissing from time to time. Kelly was off creating a forcefield around their camp so nothing dangerous could kill them in their sleep.

Gizmo watched the snake floating, having swatted away the knife when Jared went to go kill it. She found it relaxing to watch it float.

Kagami took charge of cooking the mystery meet, and Zoe handed Joselyn a bud light.

"You did good today, kid." She said, "I saw the way you dove to save Jared."

"Zoe no!" Jared snapped, "She's a kid!" Zoe's eyes widened,

"Oh!" There was a moment of silence, before Zoe grabbed a second bud light and gave it to Joselyn, "You're a growing girl."

"ZOE NO—" He smacked the drink out of Joselyn's hands, giving her some water instead, "I will not let her grow up to be as fucked up as you!"

"I think it's too late." Gizmo said, "Demonic possession and suicidal tendencies counts as fucked up."

"Yeah…" Joselyn shrugged, "And Darkling mother forgot to feed me and forgot I existed most of the time. Jared, I have eaten your cooking, even when I knew the mac and cheese had had gunpowder in it. You should know I will eat anything." Kelly came in,

"How does one get gunpowder in mac and cheese?!"

"I found a recipe online and mistook gunpowder for paprika. The American military on Blight doesn't do a good job of labeling things in their storehouse."

"So you could either make food or a bomb disguised as food?" Zoe asked. Jared nodded, looking at Gizmo who was still watching the snake.

"Okay Gizmo, I think we need to kill the snake now. I have no control over the telekinesis, so that little fuck might get released, controlled by Iku, and kill us."

"I've got it." Kelly took the Eastern Brown Snake out of the air and carried it to the edge of the forcefield, opening a tiny hole and releasing it.

"That was badass." Chloe said, "Zoe, your Dad is awesome." Zoe flipped her hair,

"Where do you think I get it?"

"Fucking insanity."

"That's fair."

Joselyn yawned, "I'm sleepy. Night guys." Kagami nodded, looking to where Pollen, Blazze, and Viirus were all sleeping in a pile.

"We should all get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us. And if we're lucky, we might be able to make it to the temple by nightfall tomorrow."

OoOoO

"What do you guys picture when you hear the word 'desert'?" Kelly asked.

"Sand dunes." Adrien said, "A sea of stark, clean, undulating sand dunes receding endlessly into the horizon under a clear blue sky."

They walked for a moment; then Zoe asked, "You're thinking about the movie _Dune_ right now, aren't you, Adrien?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

"I picture salt flats." Gizmo said, "like Bonneville. Just a flat, lifeless plain. No landmarks. No features. Nothing but salt and sand and heat." Chloe put a finger under her chin,

"I picture an island with some ferns and a single palm tree. And before you say anything, yes, I know that's not right. That's pretty much the opposite of a desert. But when I was a kid, they always called that a 'desert island' and it just stuck with me, okay?"

"That's fine, Chloe." Zoe assured, "Everybody has that kind of stuff. When you think of a punk rocker, you probably picture a leather jacket and a mohawk, but two of the biggest punk bands were the Talking Heads and Blondie."

"The point is," Psychic Jared said, "when you hear the word 'desert,' nobody pictures this."

"No." Kagami agreed, "It might qualify as a desert, but they should probably call this a wasteland."

"Well we are getting close to the temple." Joselyn said, "Iku's getting both apprehensive and maliciously giddy, so I can tell. So maybe we stepped into an enchanted area."

The path down the foothills and out of the woods had been wide and mostly downhill before terminating in the desert they'd been told went close to Uluru—because the temple wasn't in Uluru, just no the same general path—and as Psychic Jared and Kelly said, this was not what they were expecting.

They expected to find sand, but they found dirt. Gritty, dark, red dirt. They expected a near-total lack of life, maybe the occasional cactus, but they found plentiful patches of grass. They would occasionally pass a patch of damp ground, or a puddle of liquid that, if you were being a stickler, you would admit was water, but only someone who wanted to die or was desperate to live would dare drink it.

In short, while most deserts were hostile to life, this desert was merely passive aggressive. Where the Sahara seemed to scream at people to stay away, this one told them "You want to live here? Go ahead! Fine by me. I've given you everything you need—plants, animals, water. Flourish, why don't you?."

As Quantic Jared watched the landscape—Kelly's mind magic helping with the pain of broken ribs and the reality warping power decreasing the chances of one floating up into a lung—for attackers and obstacles, he saw something he did not yet know would eventually qualify as both.

They hadn't been here that long, but their slowed pace made it feel much longer. As they crested a low hill, just like the hundreds before, Quantic Jared saw in the distance, directly in their path, a mound of some sort that stood out from the others. In a landscape of gentle hills and equally gentle valleys—ignore the heat, because Kelly's mind magic was again preventing them from getting too hot or dying of heatstroke—this one small bump seemed to erupt from the ground. It was one hill made of dirt in a sea of hills made of dirt, and yet it looked out of place.

"There's a hill." He didn't blame them for not being impressed when the looked at where his finger was pointing. He explained further, "It's weird." Again he couldn't blame them for not being impressed.

The others did stop, and he pointed out the offending pile again, and they finally agreed that it looked wrong. They all kept an eye on it as they walked. Thus, in a barren landscape with only one thing making them nervous, the team walked directly towards that one thing.

They were about fifty feet from the lump and Quantic Jared was contemplating which side they should pass it on when the pile of dirt made the question unresolved by standing up.

The mound had stirred, then lifted off the ground, supported by two short, thick columns of soil. Its central mass was a bulbous lump of dirt and gravel that sprouted two gnarled arms and a flattened lump that approximated a head. Scrub grass, sage brush, and formerly buried roots sprouted from the thing's surface like body hair. It stood eight feet tall, much taller than anyone in their group—Zoe, Psychic Jared, and Kelly had only seen one being that height and nobody wanted to bring it up—yet managed to seem short and stocky. The creature's eyes were defined by their absence. Two dark pits marked the place on the head where eyes would normally be.

As the creature started to move, wispy clouds of dust rose from its joints, trailing behind it like a vapor trail as it lumbered towards them. The beat started slow but it was clearly picking up the pace and there were only fifty feet between it and them, who set a Multiverse speed record for scattering. It was like that scene in _Ratatouille_, when the humans came in and the rats ran in different directions, the team all ran in different directions.

The creature pursued the nearest of them, which was Kagami, who did the natural thing and kept running.

When the others realized this, they stopped running and watched.

"Seriously? A dirt monster?" Zoe asked, catching her breath.

"I'm guessing it's an Earth elemental." Kelly mused.

The creature was hunched over, swinging its arms from side to side as it ran, leading with its flattened head and dead eyes. It had attained its top speed, which was surprisingly slow but still slightly faster than Kagami's top speed.

"Run!" Chloe shouted, "It's gaining on you!" Kagami ventured a glance over her shoulder at the thing chasing her, "Don't look at it! Run!"

Kagami would have continued doing just that, but instead she tripped on some sagebrush and slid to a halt on her face. She scrambled back up to her feet just in time to have the elemental head-butt her with tremendous force between the shoulder blades, sending her flying and causing her to slide to a stop on her face.

The elemental was moving slowly having imparted all of its momentum to Kagami. It restarted its pursuit before Kagami had even touched the ground, but the beast was not a sprinter, and Kagami had enough time to roll to her right, operating mostly on instinct. After pushing off the ground, she brought up her arms to protect her head. Her right upper arm collided with the elemental's wrist as the creature, unable to turn its bulk at speed, trundled past. Kagami felt the impact and was sure it had done serious damage, but felt no pain. The elemental, being made of dirt, was not so fortunate. Its fist broke cleanly from its arm. When it hit the ground, the severed fist exploded into a cloud of dust and a pile of gravel and dirt.

The elemental jogged to a halt and looked at the crumbling stump where its hand had been. It waddled to the spot where its hand had disintegrated. The cloud of dust created when the severed hand hit the ground had not dissipated as one would expect, but had remained in place, and now seemed to actually become thicker and more tangible. Kagami sat that individual grains of soil were lifting off the ground, as if supported by a strong wind that blew out of the earth itself. By the time the elemental reached the point of impact, all of the debris was airborne. It wafted toward the creature's shattered forearm and reformed into a fist as the beast watched with its dull, expressionless face.

The elemental rotated its wrist and seemed satisfied. Clearly it had no need of articulated fingers. Confirming that it was again fully functional, it turned its attention back to Kagami, taking the first slow steps that would soon become a full gallop.

Kagami crawled backward, away from the creature, and felt a sudden jolt of blinding pain from her upper arm. She had not realized it was even injured before, but now she was sure it was broken. She rolled on her side, cradling her arm, which actually made it hurt worse.

Looking down, past her broken arm and flailing, kicking legs, Kagami could see the dirt elemental coming her way, picking up speed. She knew that even if she did manage to regain her feet, she'd do it just in time to get knocked down again. Her conscious mind didn't have enough time to come up with a plan. Her animal instincts told her to roll into a ball and hope it would be over quickly. She decided to call that "Plan B" and was starting to struggle to her feet when a (Psychic) Jared-shaped sprinted into view, sword drawn—the one he got when activating his powers— and hacked off one of the creature's arms.

The dirt elemental skidded to a halt, showering the still-prone Kagami with dust and gravel. Slowly, it turned its back one her, then walked over to its severed arm, only to find the arm wasn't returning.

It glanced at Kagami, who was still trying to stand without jostling her arm. It looked as if it might finish her off, but was distracted by Psychic Jared, who had removed its arm and was standing protectively in front of Kagami. The creature looked at him, then started moving his way and continued following him when he ran away from Kagami.

Jared ran in a wide curve, looping around towards Joselyn and Gizmo. The creature followed, It was slightly faster than him in a straight line, but because of its much larger mass, it had a hard time managing turns, which slowed it down just enough for Jared to maintain the lead.

"Kelly! Now!"

Kelly threw his hands out, activating his reality warping powers so a lake appeared. Jared jumped into the water and the dirt elemental followed.

"So…" Adrien looked at the water, "What was the plan there?"

"If the dirt turns to mud," Zoe explained, "It will be too heavy to get out, and if we chop off its limbs, they won't be able to grow back. And if we're lucky, it won't be able to get out of the water."

"Is Jared okay?" Chloe asked, "Because he's been down there for too long." Kelly looked down at the water,

"Oh, he's fine."

"Then why isn't he coming out?" Quantic Jared asked. It was then that Psychic Jared emerged from the water, dragging himself onto land. Only he was dragging a green fish tail behind him where his legs should be.

"What the—" Joselyn ran over and helped him out.

"Kelly, I am capable of swimming on my own." He gestured to the fish tail, "This didn't need to happen. Can you fix it before the sun dries me out?"

"I can try." He frowned, "But I didn't mean to do this…" He looked up, eyes widening, "And now's not the time."

An iron elemental emerged from the water. Gizmo turned to Quantic Jared,

"Why?!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"Well great." Zoe groaned, shifting into Heartless and running as the iron elemental followed her.

"So what's the plan?" Chloe asked, "Buzz on!" She transformed and picked up Kagami, "Kagami is exhausted and injured, Chipmunk wouldn't be able to outrun that and is also injured, Psychic has a fish tail, and this running thing is not a long term solution."

Gizmo looked towards the iron elemental, "I have a plan. Kelly, do you think you could kill that thing if we got it relatively still?" Kelly nodded, and Gizmo turned to Adrien,

"I need you to use your wind powers and go to Zoe, and blow the iron elemental towards the lake. Kelly, I need you to a) change Jared's legs back, and b) drain that lake."

Adrien nodded and ran off to go help Zoe while Kelly tried to reverse what he did. It took about five minutes before Jared's legs returned, and by then Heartless was running towards them as Adrien used his wind to keep the beast back.

Gizmo was waving her hair like flags, "Come on! The lake's drained!"

"Okay!" Heartless jumped into a controlled fight and the iron elemental fell into the ditch.

"So…" Queen Bee looked down, "Now what?" Kelly frowned, before brightening in a way that scared everyone. It was the same look Zoe got when she was about to do something that she really wanted to but was a terrible idea.

He snapped his fingers and the iron elemental got dusted like when Thanos did the snap.

Everyone looked to Kelly, who looked way too happy.

"Dad…" Zoe frowned, "Should I be worried and stay away from cliffs in your presence?"

"Nah." He shrugged, grinning like a maniac, "I've just wanted to do that for so long." Quantic Jared sighed,

"Just another reminder I'm surrounded by psychopaths." Queen Bee was still carrying Kagami,

"Kagami's hurt. We should set up camp so she can rest." Zoe frowned,

"Okay…put her down and let me see." Queen Bee obeyed and Zoe gently looked over Kagami's broken arm. It wasn't a clean break, and that was worrisome.

"Should I trust you to do this?" Kagami asked as Zoe pulled out some bandage wrap as Kelly started turning dirt into a sling. Zoe looked offended,

"I'll have you know that I am excellent at first aid and basically medial training. Ask the last person I helped."

"I would, but I forgot to bring my shovel." Zoe narrowed her eyes.

"Adrien?"

"She actually was helpful." Adrien defended. Kagami huffed and bit down while Zoe lined up the bone and wrapped it up and put it in a sling. Queen Bee helped Kagami up as Zoe looking over the wrappings on Quantic Jared's ribs.

"Okay." Joselyn said, "Is everyone okay?" Silence. "Can everyone walk?" There was a collective nod from everyone, so she continued walking.

Three hours later

The sun was going down.

Jocelyn huffed in frustration, twitching at the cuffs scratching at her skin. Quantic Jared had been complaining for hours, so once the sun went down, the team insisted on stopping.

The camp was set up again and she sat down, watching Zoe pester Blazze.

"So what exactly happened with Other Jared?" Blazze groaned, roasting a marshmallow,

"You don't wanna know. Like, really really don't wanna know. Hell, I wish I didn't have to know." Viirus nodded,

"It was very uncomfortable. Please don't push it." Zoe crossed her arms and pouted,

"Fine. I'll give you a week."

Gizmo was looking at the charred Dragon Miraculous, "I think I can fix this. Might even be able to improve it! It's a basic choker, but I could make it more subtle." Blazze shrugged,

"Fine. Just let me watch so you don't break it." They walked into Gizmo's tent.

Joselyn looked around the camp. Kelly was drawing quietly, Quantic Jared was asleep, Psychic Jared was staring at the food cook, Zoe was cooking and looking at the stars, Chloe was fussing over Kagami, and Adrien was trying to get the MiFi—portable WiFi—to work so he could call his kids.

She groaned, getting up to take a stroll to clear her head.

"Dad, can you please get rid of the dangerous things in that pond over there for twenty minutes?" Kelly snapped his fingers and Joselyn went to the pond, bathing and taking a moment to look at the word on her arm, before sighing and focusing on cleaning herself while ignoring the scars on her body.

It was Iku's fault for the dirt elemental. She knew that. She could sense Iku's excitement during that time. Recently, Iku had figured out how to perform magic without using Joselyn's body and completely unaware other than Joselyn herself being able to sense the Enchantress's emotions.

Her hair was short, so she didn't need to dry it. All she had to do was put on another pair of clothes. She did not expect to ram into stone.

Joselyn fell backwards and then watched as a glamor melted away and revealed a castle.

It was a fair fortress comprised of several spindly, crooked, golden-brown towers topped with black cone towers, also crooked and spindly.

"Hey guys?" Joselyn ran back to the camp, "I found the temple." They all looked to where the temple could be seen.

"Let's go in!" Zoe said eagerly. Adrien shook his head,

"Going into a creepy temple in the middle of the night? I promised Marinette we wouldn't do anything stupid!" Psychic Jared turned,

"Why would you lie to your wife like that?!"

"Because I thought it was true!" Kelly groaned,

"Okay, we go into the temple in the morning. Everyone should sleep now." Kagami got up and Chloe got up too,

"You can share my tent, and I have more wrappings."

Kagami smiled a little, "I'm fine, Chloe."

"Your arm is broken!" Psychic Jared ran his hands through his hair,

"I hope we can get this over with soon so we can go back home. And hopefully there will be no terrible surprises."

He really shouldn't have said that, because the second we went to his tent, Zoe had an evil smirk on her face. Kelly immediately knew what she was thinking and rolled his eyes.

"He's gonna hate you when he finds out you're fucking with him."

"It will be _so_ worth it."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Face your fears (or not)**

The temple itself wasn't much a sight to behold, just some dirty rooms with the occasional side and snake. The issue was that while they had figured out most of the towers were decorative, the one tower that was real was at least twenty stories, large inside than out, dark, dirty, filled with creepy things that could kill you…so Quantic Jared wanted out.

Zoe could sense the magic running through the place, but decided to not regard it too much.

"Guys, look at this." Queen Bee looked towards a sign, and her accent was apparent while reading, "Warning: Go no further." Joselyn shrugged,

"Well, we have to go forward."

Kelly had a ball of light in his hand, looking around. He could sense the curse in the area, not just magic. And it was getting stronger as they walked up the stairs.

"So… this shouldn't be too bad." Kagami said. Then they heard Zoe scream and ran up the stairs, seeing her shrieking on the floor.

…

This was not happening. It couldn't be happening…it couldn't…

She had gone up the stairs, ready to get this over with, go home and spend time with her husband and kids. But when she got to the second floor, she saw the horribly mutilated bodies of all of them. It looked as though Eli had tried to shield them, but the black spears used went straight through even him—indestructible, could break a building flying at him—and hit the kids. Roxas looked like he had been pinned and hadn't been able to hold the phasing long enough to get out.

Felix was in the corner, with his eyes burned out and an ash wing pattern behind him, like an angel smiting. He too had a spear in his stomach.

She didn't know these were supposed to be the Spears of Gungnir, as that was the only weapon that could kill her family like this, but it was still horrific to see.

She tried to pull the spear out of Eli, hoping to reach her younger kids, praying that maybe it wasn't too late. How had they even gotten here?!

It was too late. They were gone.

She felt an infection start spreading up her arm from just touching the spears, but she ran over and got the one out of Felix, cradling his corpse and bringing him over to the rest of the family. It looked as though he had been fighting whoever did this and got killed in the process.

She just sat there with their bodies, and let herself weep.

…

"Zoe!" Kelly ran over, "Gem, what's wrong?"

"T-They're gone Dad…" She clung to him, shrieking into his chest. But there was nothing around the room. Kelly looked in her mind, before his eyes widened,

"Gizmo, pass me the squirt bottle." Gizmo dug into her bag and grabbed it, and Kelly sprayed Zoe in the face causing her to cough and blink and few times, "Zoe? You okay?" Zoe looked frantically around the room,

"I-I saw them! They were dead!" Kelly held her close,

"It was just a hallucination. It wasn't real." He helped her up and walked to a side of the room, frowning deeply, "I should have known." Chloe came over,

"What is it?"

"It's an old fear curse." He said, "Basically it makes the person it comes across experience their worst fear. The one on this floor is pretty limited, and designed to only affect the first person. But I can sense it gets stronger as we go higher."

Quantic Jared shrieked a little, "That's horrible! Can I go?"

"No." Kagami said, "If I can do this in the condition I'm in right now, you can suck it up and deal." She walked over to the unfamiliar language on the walls, "How do you know about this?"

"Just assume that there is a Blackwell witch for everything." He shuddered, "Like, seriously, there were 284 witches, and some had multiple talents. Well, come on guys, second floor awaits."

"Um…" Joselyn looked up, "Assuming the first couple floors are first person only, and then increases until we're all screwed, we should probably rotate who goes first."

"No." Quantic Jared sat down, "You can't make me go up there." Psychic Jared huffed, throwing the smaller, younger, more innocent version of himself over his shoulder and walking up the stairs.

But Gizmo was already up there. She was walking around, perfectly fine.

"Hey guys. I don't think this room was cursed." Kelly gaped,

"No…it was. The fact you weren't bothered by an ancient spell worries me." Gizmo shrugged,

"Okay. Cool. Shall we continue?"

"Can we use Gizmo as human shield?" Kelly rolled his eyes,

"Well, yes. But the spell gets stronger, so second floor needs a second person." Joselyn raised a hand,

"I'll do it…"

"Alright." Kelly nodded to himself, "So we should probably make an order. There are twenty stories, eight of us—kwamis don't count—" Blazze pouted at that, sitting on Zoe's shoulder in kwami form, "After Joselyn, I'll go next, then Chloe, Adrien, Kagami, Chipmunk, Zoe, then Jared? Remember we all have to do this eventually."

"Are you sure we all have to do it?" Adrien asked. Kelly nodded,

"The spell will get stronger. You have no choice. But the sooner we get this over with, the better. And the last person up will have to spray the others with the squirt bottle."

"Can we get on with it?" Gizmo asked, "I don't like the smell of this place." She walked up the stairs and Joselyn sucked in a breath to follow.

…

Joselyn walked up the stairs, nervous about what she would find. Gizmo didn't seem bothered at all.

"Gizmo," she looked to her only friend her age, "Do you honestly not see anything?"

"I see something." Gizmo replied, "I see you getting hurt. Only reason I'm calm about it is my analytical ability. I could see it was fake. That and I knew I was the first person up the stairs. And there you are again." She gestured to a patch of ground, "So my singular fear can be handled since you're right next to me. So why burden the others?"

"I suppose you're right."

"Joselyn…" Joselyn whirled around and saw Iku staring at her.

Iku, was both a beautiful and a terrifying woman in her true, vessel-free form. She had long, layered black hair and eerily white skin, with sunken cheekbones. Her eyes were slanted and pure black, including her scleras. The satin black dress she was wearing glistened in the dimmed light, almost making it sparkle like the stars in the sky. It flowed like a river in an hour glass shape and the one strap gave it a sexy yet elegant look, which was odd because Joselyn could see her ribcage through it. Her nails were like daggers, or very shiny claws, kind of hard to tell which.

"I-Iku?" Joselyn backed up, before relaxing, "So I just have to deal with you more than usual? Lovely." Iku shrugged. On her own, her voice was silky and actually had an accent Joselyn couldn't place.

Iku grinned, revealing pointed teeth, "Oh Joselyn Dearest, you don't just deal with me. Back when I was young, people would sell anything to be in the place you are now." Gizmo wasn't batting an eye, and everyone else shrugged, because Joselyn didn't seem afraid, more annoyed,

"What happened?" She asked sarcastically, "Did you eat one too many souls?"

"No." Iku walked ahead of her, clicking her black heels against the stone, "My brother and I were split from one to two, and you know how people prefer the light."

"Because people like hope over despair." Joselyn snapped, and Iku turned, looking rather offended,

"Hope is harmony. A just heart, moving toward the light. That is all." She put her clawed index finger up like she was about to state a point, "Despair is hope's polar opposite. It is messy and confusing. It swallows up love, hatred, and everything else. Because not knowing where you will end up is despair. Despair is what even your friend Grace cannot predict. Only despair's unpredictability can save you from a boring future." She put her finger down and clasped her hands together, "However, mortals like predictable. Take a look at your sister over there," she gestured to Zoe, who was talking to Chloe about something or other, "She downright fears unpredictability. And because most creatures like to be predictable, she rarely finds it. It helps her that she's observant and can see shit coming from a mile away, so not much surprises her."

"So what is your goal?" She asked, "To spread despair to all? Because that sounds rather Junko Enoshima of you." Iku scoffed,

"Don't compare me to that video game's pathetic use of an antagonist. She did things with no reason, while even Grace McAllister—a girl with no true emotion until recently—has motives. And that isn't my goal at all." Joselyn realized in this moment that in the nearly three years of knowing about Iku's active existence, she had never asked what was probably the most important question.

"Does it have to do with you and Vita? He seems to still care and have been left with no choice." Iku sighed,

"I do miss my dear brother. When we were split into two, the Council of Deaths—in which Cradh is the only member of the current council that was around back then, since the others have been replaced many times over—used their respective powers to make myself and Vita think we were normal superpowered brother and sister, with no memory of our goal. I broke free first, and while Vita eventually remembered we were both immortal gods, he chose to follow the path of light. I didn't try to strike him down as the legend says, I was trying to persuade him and one of my men attacked him. He's been against me ever since, because that blow drained his power." She turned to Joselyn, patting her atop the head,

"I wish for balance, little warrior. A multiverse where light and darkness, hope and despair, are in perfect balance. No, not like Thanos, get that thought out of your head." She pulled up her sleeve and revealed the word carved into her arm identical to Joselyn, "I am not what you think I am." She walked over to Psychic Jared, running her claws across his cheek, making blood droplets fall, "With your help, I could create balance. But you need to let go of these mortals who hold you back."

"You are aware most of the people here are immortal, right?"

"Not to me. I have been around since the beginning of everything." She looked towards Zoe, "Other than the Worldbenders, I know for a fact I will outlive them. Lifespan of a Worldbender is still unknown because they either get killed early on or are still around. Though Worldbreakers tend to live around a hundred billon years, so I would assume Worldbenders are the same."

"What's the lifespan of a witch or warlock?" Iku placed a finger under her chin,

"Maybe you and I can get along when you can't punch a mirror. To answer the question, it depends on power. Eli will probably live for as long as his wife, assuming his bad luck doesn't get him killed first. The average witch lives a hundred thousand years, and a Blackwell witch can hit the million mark. Wait, why am I telling you this? I'm trying to convince you to let them die!" Joselyn groaned,

"Iku, if you want me to help you, you should stop trying to kill my family."

…

Kelly watched Joselyn talk to probably Iku for a bit. Gizmo didn't seem phased whatsoever, though that made sense due to her analytical ability and overall lack of emotion.

Looking at the stairwell to the fifth floor, he sucked in a breath, knowing it was his turn. He had a pretty good idea of what he would see.

He walked up the stairs and expected to see his kids dead or fighting to the death or something. But when he heard a different voice, he realized what was happening.

He had had nightmares of his children being hurt many times over the years, and it had evolved from fear to pure dread—which in his opinion was much worse. There was a fine line between the two, but it was apparently fine enough that he didn't need to watch his kids die for the umpteenth time.

That did not mean he liked what he saw in any way.

He opened his eyes and saw a little girl looking back at him. She was Italian looking and cute as hell, dressed in a primrose pinafore dress and soft first shoes kids wore, the ones they could still feel the ground in. Her dark hair was in pigtails and her soft brown eyes looked sad.

"You killed me." She said, crying, "I trusted you, why did you kill me? WHY?!"

Her name was Zoe Perez, the namesake of his eldest daughter.

"WHY?!" She asked, again and again, and Kelly covered his ears.

"I'm sorry!" He begged, "It was an accident!"

"I don't believe you."

Back when he first got his powers, he was trying to go to the grocery store to get soup, because Harrison had been dying from his illness, and Amelia was by his side with Tazri. He went to the store, and ran into a crying child, trying to find her mother—who she had lost track of in the park. He helped her find her mother, but there was too much noise and he lost control of his powers, making her forget how to breathe.

He did everything he could to help, and called the hospital, but she died before the ambulance arrived.

He wasn't charged with murder because no signs of foul play showed up, and he had been just as shocked as the mother. But he always lived with the knowledge he murdered an innocent little girl, and hadn't been able to get out of bed for days after that. And for a long time he thought his powers were evil, and it took many of the witches to convince him otherwise. But he never forgot that child, and the look of terror in her eyes as she died. Or the screams of her mother trying to help.

He ended up screaming, chanting "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry." over and over, until his eldest daughter grabbed the squirt bottle and sprayed him in the face. Then the ghost child was gone and he was able to compose himself, and found he had been being dragged up a couple stories.

"Dad? You okay?" She looked down at him with a worried expression. He smiled a little, but the little girl's words still rang in his head.

"I-I've been worse." He stood up, "That sucked. Good thing Gizmo and Joselyn don't have it too bad."

"Well Dad," Zoe said apologetically, "I'm gonna have to squirt you again in a minute. And…Chloe's next, right?"

"Yeah…" Chloe bit her lip, "I know I have to do this." Quantic Jared tried to squirm away again, but was held firm.

"Chloe, I can go first." Adrien offered, but Chloe looked towards Kagami, blushing, before going towards the stairs.

…

Chloe walked up the stairs and immediately saw her mother standing there grumpily.

"The only exceptional thing about you, my dear, is your mother. According to me, you have clearly demonstrated that there is nothing exceptional about you." Chloe growled, clenching her fist. Four years ago she would have sobbed and pleaded. She had buried her mother deep down, and asked her Dad to make her Mom believe she had died during the Mara attack—and Kelly had helped by wiping everyone's memory of Queen Bee's identity.

"Tell me, mother. What makes me not up to your standards?"

Audrey started counting off her fingers, "You're living without servants, you donate to charities, you've dated women and are currently in love with another, and now you're wearing _that_" she gestured to Chloe's hiking clothes, "hiking, and willingly risking your life for commoners who should mean nothing to you." Chloe slapped her,

"I am more exceptional than you'll ever be." She said firmly, "And they are my friends, and how dare you criticize my sexuality. I like girls, deal with it. I have a crush on Kagami, and I don't need your approval." She flipped her hair and moved along, not noticing Kagami gaping behind her.

Zoe was also impressed, "Damn Chlo." She smirked in Kagami's direction, "Why's your face red?"

"Pain in my horribly broken arm." Adrien smiled,

"Look at how much she's grown."

"Yeah." Kelly wiped the water and vinegar out of his eyes, "But it will get worse for all of us on the higher floors."

"Put me down!" Quantic Jared pleaded, "I'll just wait downstairs! I don't want to do this!"

"Nope, you are coming with us." Adrien looked to where Chloe was walking off, "So here's a game: how about we all face our fears! Gizmo has none—and that scares me—Joselyn is having a conversation with hers, we have the squirt bottle for Kelly, and Chloe just silenced her mother—or I would assume it was her mother—like a badass."

"Sounds fun." Kagami said, "Though something tells me that will be easier said than done."

"Yeah…" Kelly looked up, "Don't think anyone's made it to the top before." Zoe shrugged,

"We're already almost halfway up the tower. So far so good."

…

It was Adrien's turn next.

"Okay…Jos? Ya good?" They could only hear one half of the conversation, but it seemed she and whoever were discussing Marvel movies. Why? No idea.

"I'm fine—bad Iku!" Everyone turned to Psychic Jared, who had deep claw marks on his cheek.

"Wait, others fears can hurt you?!" Quantic Jared's attempts to escape got more desperate.

"I think it's just Iku." Psychic Jared said, looking at the blood on his hand, "Because Iku. But I didn't feel this at all, which is worrisome."

Adrien watched Gizmo investigate the new room, not caring after the curse at all, before stepping in.

"You know that if I do this, your son will no longer be the same." Adrien gasped as he found himself in the kitchen of the mansion, where Mara was standing with his father—before Naiad, and de-aging—and Gabriel smirked,

"I never cared about that brat anyway. Kill him for all I care, just get me those Miraculous!"

This was Adrien's fear. Like Kelly, losing Marinette had evolved from fear to dread, and he was used to it. This caught him off guard as he had been preparing for his wife's or even Plagg's corpse.

His father had told him he had had genuinely no idea what Mara was going to do, and it had been a dumb mistake in the heat of the moment. But even now, with his relationship pretty much mended, we still feared this was how it really went.

Still it had been his idea to face their fears, so he walked in a straight line, where he would hit the wall if he was really in the kitchen, but merely progressed to the next room. Though he did understand why Gizmo, Joselyn, and Chloe were no longer communicating with the rest of the team. The fear definitely sucked you in, even if you weren't afraid. It was also interesting how it focused in on personal fears and not something simple like arachnophobia.

Though as he went up the tower, the theoretical fears turned into actual memories of the bad times involving his father, including the Heroes' Day…

…

Adrien seemed okay enough, so it was Kagami's turn. Nobody on the team was sure whether to be apprehensive or relived that the fears weren't too bad. Quantic Jared had chosen apprehensive, and was fighting against the people dragging him with all the strength his scrawny body could muster up.

"I'm not gonna do it!" Quantic Jared pleaded, "I'll stay here! I am with you in spirit!"

"In spirit, huh?" Zoe rolled her eyes, still visibly shaken from what she had seen, but relived it wasn't real.

Kagami rolled her eyes, "Whatever, the sooner we finish this, the sooner I can get actual medical assistance for my arm." She walked up the stairs, and froze.

Gina was standing there, with the bullet wound in her head and a spirit-like glow around her.

"Why didn't you see it?" She asked, "You were so busy with other things that you didn't notice your friend fading away!" Kagami squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears as best she could with a broken arm.

"It wasn't my fault." She muttered to herself, "I didn't see it, that's on me, but I didn't make you pull the trigger." She kept her eyes closed, and let Zoe spray her in the face with the squirt bottle.

"Iku! Bad!" They all frowned as Joselyn ran around the room, and then they saw the gun that should have been at Zoe's hip was floating around the room.

"So Joselyn's fear just removed Iku from her body?" Kelly asked, "Sweet."

"I'll keep in mind that you think Iku being free is a good thing when she's strangling me." Psychic Jared said sarcastically, "Kagami, you okay?" Kagami nodded,

"A little shaken, but I'm okay." Zoe refilled the squirt bottle,

"So shall we continue?" Quantic Jared shook his head, and Zoe ruffled his hair—by floating up to him, because he was significantly taller than her—" Puppy, don't be the one game at Chuck E. Cheese that isn't broken. Come on." When he shook his head again, she pulled a different card, "Alya would find it very brave." And then he was walking up the tower.

"Is Alya just gonna be our weapon against him?" Kagami asked, watching the young man go up the stairs for his turn.

"Pretty much." Psychic Jared frowned,

"Has anyone told him Nino exists?" There was a collective unsure pause.

"Well…shit."

…

Quantic Jared immediately regretted going up the stairs when he made it to the top. They were now on the eleventh floor, meaning over halfway, meaning something bad was gonna happen.

But he was shocked to find himself in his home. But the sky was black.

"Jared!" he turned and saw his parents and little sister tied up and bloody.

He had been told this wasn't real, but he felt so real, the cold air, the screams ringing in his head, so he ran to their side and started untying them.

"Get your sister out!" His mother pleaded, "Now!" He turned to Kaylee and started untying her. She looked up at him with terror in her eyes and the two started running.

"Where do you think you're going?" He turned and gasped, seeing Iku—possessing Joselyn completely—and saw the girl smirk, snapping her fingers. Kaylee screamed in pain and fell over.

Quantic Jared looked at Iku, glaring with tears in his eyes, "How could you?!"

Iku didn't answer, and was replaced with a squirt to the face from the water bottle.

"What was that…" he whispered, doing everything he could to not think about his sister, not wanting her to get dragged into this mess.

He was surprised to find himself being hugged by Kelly, but let himself cry for a minute, before coming back to reality.

"So yours sucked?" Zoe asked, and Quantic Jared sniffled, nodding. "My turn then." She said, helping him up, "But we are now 60% of the way up the tower. So let's go."

They walked up the stairs and Zoe had her eyes closed as she walked up, knowing what she would see.

…

And then they had landed on Psychic Jared's turn.

He found himself back in his personal hell, where he was a villain killing his friends and family. In the real world, he fell to his knees and started screaming, but he was seeing his loved ones die at his own hand and memories of the nightmares Kelly kept erasing the memory of came back full force.

For him, the squirt bottle didn't work, so Kelly and Zoe helped him up three flights of stairs, before he felt himself come back to reality a little, and saw his friends scream before falling to their knees.

The thoughts were accelerating inside his head. He want them to slow so he could breathe, but they wouldn't. His breaths came in gasps and Jared feel like he would black out. His heart was hammering inside his chest like it belonged to a rabbit running for its skin. The room spun and the small part of his brain still attached to the real world had him sit on the floor, trying to make everything slow to something his brain and body could cope with. I felt so sick. I didn't know who to call far, what's their name, who too call, too far away, they're gone, what number, too far away... blackness... creeping blackness...

He was on the floor in a ball. _What's my name, who to call, what's the name, the stairs are too steep, the room is spinning…blackness..._

And then he, like all the others who had experienced this moments before, passed out.

OoOoO

Morrigan watched Kelly and the others fall victim to the nightmare room, where they all fell asleep and were trapped in their personal nightmares. She couldn't help them now without revealing herself. But she knew someone who could, not that Kelly would like it.

…

"Kels! Wakey wakey!"

Kelly opened his eyes from a nightmare of his three daughters turning on each other and him being unable to calm them down, and watched them destroy each other, then Zoe Perez laughed at his suffering.

He blinked a few times before processing who he was looking at.

She has long black hair, which she had part of in a high bun and the rest down her back. Her eyes were pale grey-violet. Her outfit included a black cardigan over a white dress shirt, with both left open to the third button to expose the top of her light violet bra, a violet pleated miniskirt, and mid-sized black boots with platform heels and violet laces. She accessorized with a long tie that hung loosely around her neck half black and white with a prohibition sign on it, and a thin black choker. And she had a dull blue spirit-like glow.

"Oh good, you're up. The others will be up momentarily." Kelly blinked a few more times before squirting himself in the face with the water, but she was still there.

"Maya! What are you doing here?!"

"A 'thank you' would suffice." She said. Her voice was very high-pitched, but had a slight sense of maturity to it that was designed to lure you into a false sense of security.

Zoe woke up next and rubbed her eyes, followed by the others. Quantic Jared was the first person to ask the question they all wanted to ask,

"Who is that?! I'm still in the nightmare, but I want to know."

Maya waved, "I'm Maya, also known as the Pink Horny Ranger."

"Wait what." Came from everyone collectively. Kelly groaned loudly, his eyes changing from blue to a mix of brown and red, which translated to "I will kill myself or someone else in the next ten minutes"

"Don't question it." He said, "Maya, seriously, what are you doing here?" Maya crossed her arms.

"I am the witch of fear after all, so our Death sent me to help you assholes out in exchange for getting me some more Yaoi." Gizmo raised a hand,

"What's Yaoi?"

"You don't want to know." Came from everyone—including Joselyn—except a now put-out Maya.

"How are you projecting yourself?" Kagami asked, "We need to take you with us so I can run tests!" Gizmo brightened at that. Kelly shook his head frantically,

"Trust me, your patience will be at the end of its rope by the time we get up the last three flights of stairs." Maya flipped him off,

"I swear to god Kels, I am still pissed when you ruined my last pairing and you're lucky I died, otherwise I would have smothered you in your sleep!" Kelly huffed and walked up the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later

Everyone was at the end of their rope.

From asking if Adrien and Psychic Jared were a couple, to going on about the Yaoi she had read and watched, everyone was ready to be done with Maya. Kelly was covering Joselyn's ears while Zoe did the same to Gizmo. There had also been a one-sided conversation about the difference between Yaoi, Yuri, and straight porn.

They could not be happier when they got to the room with the stone—an Emerald apparently—in it.

"So who's taking the stone?" Adrien asked, "The options are Gizmo, Kagami, and Chloe. And I don't trust Gizmo." Gizmo crossed her arms grumpily. Chloe backed up,

"Uh…I just got sucked back into this and you didn't expect to see me. But Kagami, I'll do it if you don't want to." Kagami turned, smiling,

"The plan was for me to do it. So I will." She walked up and touched the stone with her good hand, falling to her knees as she absorbed the power.

And then the room froze over.

"Oh lovely." Kelly groaned, watching Maya who was reading something he didn't want to think about, "Controls over the elements. Fire, ice, and so on. Can we go now?"

"I want to come!" Maya said eagerly.

"No Maya, go away!"

"No!" Gizmo insisted, while Kagami was being helped up by Psychic Jared and Chloe, "We have to study her! Find out how she manifests herself!"

It was strange to see Kelly so annoyed and lacking in patience. But it made sense when they thought about it, since people you grow up with know how to push your buttons. And judging by the way Maya was smirking in his direction, that was exactly what she was trying to do. Also, spending even fifteen minutes with Maya said a lot about how he had grown up.

Joselyn looked in the direction her Dad had gone, before following him where he was summoning the jet to them.

The others followed not long after, and got into the jet. Maya was chatting cheerfully with Zoe about Kelly when he was younger.

The jet came down and they all got in, and Zoe was plotting a wicked and somewhat sadistic prank.

OoOoO

Aelin was looking out the window with Roxas through the large window—or listening to sounds. It was pouring outside.

She giggled, "There do be a rumbly rumbly rainy of death." Roxas nodded,

"Yes. A very spooky rumbly rumbly rainy of death."

"It is very much raining." Elaine agreed, "I was hoping to go play outside." Catra came into the play room—Zoe's old room was used as a play room for all the kids, and nobody touched the murder closet—with a bunch on mugs. Felix was studying history with Gavin at the desk.

"I have hot cocoa!" She said, being helped by Emma and Hugo to bring the tray in.

"Just don't leak it on my desk." Felix said.

"I will always leak it on your desk."

"But then I will have to…be…" he sighed, "no power."

"Are the grown ups back yet?" Emma asked yet. Gavin nodded a little,

"Well, Eden, Hana, and Marinette are back. I hear the others are frustrated at the words my magic spewed." For the most part, when shit like this happened, the kids took care of themselves other than Hana caring for them. They were responsible enough.

Danielle started making noises and clapping, "Mommy!" All the kids turned to the window where the jet was landing. She started crawling to the door when Felix picked her up, carrying both her and Amhar.

"No. As we already established, there is a rumbly rumbly rainy of death outside." That actually meant it was pouring and trees were falling and the power was failing.

The team came in, soaking wet, and they were all injured or shaken, and Kelly looked ready to die.

"Holy crap, Mom?! Guys?!" Felix put the babies down and sprinted down the stairs, "You're hurt!" Chloe gaped,

"Felix?!" Oh…right…

Zoe looked to her son, "Oh yeah, Chloe, Felix is a Nephilim. So Fe, can you heal Chipmunk and Kagami?" Felix nodded and healed them both with a proud smile.

Eden came down the stairs next with Hana, who was holding Amhar. Zoe gaped at her little sister,

"Damn sis. Someone got a makeover." Eden smiled,

"You like it?" Zoe nodded, and then took Amhar from Hana.

"Jared…" she managed to turn her expression somber, and made sure to put mental shields up. When Psychic Jared was more experienced with his powers, he would be able to break through with ease, but she was going to embrace it while she could, "You need to meet someone."

Psychic Jared looked at the dark haired baby in confusion, "A kid?"

"Your kid. Meet Amhar Brock, your son." Kagami squinted, Adrien and Kelly tried their best not to laugh, Joselyn was confused, Gizmo was already looking at Felix and didn't care, and Chloe and Quantic Jared actually believed this. Hana and Eden looked to each other, but neither denied the statement. Zoe could sense that Kagami was just unsure.

Psychic Jared looked at the baby with the utmost, speechless horror, and nobody was paying attention to the ghost hacking into one of the computers,

He was silent and gaping for about five minutes, and Amhar just smiled at him, because he genuinely had no idea who his parents were.

Eventually, Psychic Jared managed to get out a singular word,

"WHAT?!"

**A/N: And now Zoe has decided to give her nephew to Jared to see what happens. Maya will be more established, because Morrigan isn't going to be getting rid of her for a bit, just in case another fear curse shows up.**

**As usual, remember to review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 21: Beware the Sauce of Death**

"How could this have happened?!" Psychic Jared asked for the umpteenth time. They had gotten on the plane and were now on their way to Africa. It was impressive really, how fast he had ran back into the jet once he was told he was a father.

Eden was all over this, because it wasn't like she wanted Amhar, and the baby really did look like a combination of Jared and Camille.

"Jared, I don't think I have to explain to you where babies come from."

"No, you don't." He started pacing, "But when could he have come into existence?"

"When you were sleeping." Zoe came in, "Set the plane on auto-pilot because this is much more interesting."

"But wouldn't I have noticed? I remember you, and I did research. Magical pregnancies, like one involving a powerful witch such as Cam, would be much faster. So unless I sired Amhar two weeks or _less_ before falling into a coma, I would have noticed. And yes, we've been kind of busy since I woke up, but she still could have told me 'hey, we have a son'."

"You were already being all protective father with Joselyn." Kelly muttered under his breath, still glaring darkly at Maya, who was watching unimaginable horrors on a iPad as Gizmo and Kagami took notes on her behavior, tangibility and such.

Hana sighed, before yelping. Psychic Jared turned to what had her attention,

"Aw, fucking hell!"

Amhar crawled out of Hana's backpack and sat on the floor, staring at his 'father' in silence. It was kind of eerie how quiet this normally bubbly baby was being right now. Then again, he was in truth Eden's son, and an important trait for Eden—at least before her early mid-life crisis—was the fact she had been very intuitive and logical from a very early age. So it made sense that Amhar was picking up on Jared's discomfort, and chose to be quiet. Though how he had gotten there was still a mystery.

"Han?" Quantic Jared asked, "Did you bring him along?"

"I did not." She said. Kelly looked down at the baby,

"Magical babies have a teleporting phase. It's not abnormal." Then Amhar teleported onto Psychic Jared's leg in a puff of pink sparkles, "Okay, that's not normal."

Psychic Jared glared at Amhar, and Amhar looked at him, blinking innocently. It was almost as though he was assessing the threat the large man posed to him. Jared picked him up by the scruff of the neck like a cat and set him on the seat.

Hana groaned loudly, taking Amhar and wrapping him in a blanket.

"You actually need to hold him properly." He glared at the infant Hana placed his arms, about to put Amhar down—or throw him, or dropkick him—but then Hana summoned a knife made of shadows and once he tried to control her with his powers and couldn't even find her within the chain, he shut up.

"Han?" Eden gaped, "When—what—how—" Hana looked to the knife,

"Oh right. I forgot I never said anything." Gizmo took the knife, only for it to fade away when it was removed from Hana's hands.

"Bitch, how long have you had shadow powers?" Zoe asked. Hana sighed,

"I'm a Shadow Charmer. Have been since I was six. Eli is one too, which is probably why he was able to be barely affected in the Realm of Darkness." Maya cocked her head,

"Shadow Charmer?" Kelly huffed,

"A Shadow charmer is clouded in darkness, but is not _necessarily_ evil. A shadow charmer enjoys brother or sisterhood with the creatures of the night. Their emotions cannot be manipulated by magical guilt and fear. They hear and comprehend the secret languages of dark creatures, such as Trolls, Giants, Zombies, Wraiths, Phantoms, and Demons. They are allies of the night. No two shadow charmers are the same. In slight darkness, shadow charmers are nearly invisible. When they keep to the shade, even vigilant eyes will pass over them, particularly if they hold still. Most shadow charmers can see in the dark, quench flames, project fear, manipulate shadows, and lower the temperature in a room, and some can even hear thoughts. They are also immune to magical fear and all forms of mind power. They don't need to sleep and are unable to be controlled or possessed. A shadow charmer cannot be taught or born, they are made, often through the aid of a demon, or the shadows just accepting the person as one of their own."

Quantic Jared threw his hands up, "So you're saying Hana could have saved us instead of the ghost!" Maya smirked and turned invisible, no doubt to scare him later. Kelly shook his head,

"No, she would have been able to disregard the curse and take the stone's power for herself." Hana nodded,

"Zoe, you didn't trip the night you and Eli met. He was stammering like an idiot and didn't know how to say hi, so I tripped you so his inner superhero would do the talking. So you're welcome for introducing you to your husband."

"You know Hana," Kagami said, "I was thinking you were normal."

"Yeah…" Hana shrugged, then frowned at Psychic Jared, "No, you're doing it wrong. You need to support his head." Jared narrowed his eyes,

"I don't even want it! If you're going to criticize me, then you take it!" Eden shook her head,

"Nope, he's yours." Quantic Jared was watching this.

"Um…I'll take the kid?" And then Amhar got chucked at him. Psychic Jared got up and walked into the cockpit and Zoe followed.

"You okay?" She asked, genuinely confused by this reaction since he had basically adopted her youngest sister. He looked at her,

"If you aren't fucking with me, that means I left Cam, alone and pregnant, to have a child, and I wasn't there for her! I put her through agony and _wasn't there_!"

"Is that why you're against Amhar?"

"No. I just hate children. They're loud and annoying and needy." he sighed, "But after seeing what you of all people were like during childbirth, that solidified it for me. You broke my hand to, so fuck you for that."

"Roxas's middle name is after you." He narrowed his eyes, and they turned the same brown-red swirl as Kelly's.

They both turned and opened the door to the cockpit and saw Amhar giggling with Quantic Jared. It didn't seem to take much to entertain him, as he was content to play with a couple spoons.

Quantic Jared had also realized he didn't know how to play with babies, and had taken to reading a chemistry textbook out-loud. Amhar crawled over to the book, still chewing on a spoon.

Suddenly, everything went dark. Eden felt a ball of light in her hands, and they immediately checked to make sure Iku didn't break free of Joselyn—which she didn't. Gizmo was the one to point outside, where a red orb-eye-thing was looking at them through a window.

"What is that?!" Quantic Jared asked with a squeak. Zoe transformed into Heartless and phased through the plane. Eden transformed into Tenshi, looking down at her gentle outfit in disgust, before also phasing through the plane.

So everyone else had no choice but to watch the two sisters—one of light and one of dark—battling the…thing.

"Sauce of Death." Maya looked at it, appearing behind Quantic Jared, making him shriek a little, "I actually like that." She then started filming, and then rolled her eyes at Kelly's incredulous look, "I may be the Pink Horny Ranger, but I need other things to entertain myself than Yaoi. Turning your badass daughters into an anime will be awesome." For once, Kelly's annoyance seemed to calm a little, looking out the window as Heartless and Tenshi managed to drive away the creature now called a Sauce of Death by Maya.

Maya giggled, "The sauces of death shall come in the night, to fill your mind with dread and fright!"

Tenshi raised her hands, and brought lightening down on the Sauce of Death.

"Damn." Hana was looking out the window. The moment both women phased back into the plane, Gizmo started examining them.

"Fascinating."

"What was that?" Quantic Jared asked, bouncing Amhar, "Are there more?" Tenshi shrugged,

"Don't think they're gonna be bothering us." Zoe nodded, then noticed Amhar had teleported into her backpack, "Aye! Get back here, little fucker!"

Oddly enough, he wasn't eating anything he shouldn't, he was just looking at Zoe's phone, her home screen being a picture of her and her family. He was looking at Psychic Jared, then at the picture.

"Family?" He smiled at the picture and showed it to Psychic Jared, who remembered when that picture was taken. There was actually a painting of it now that was in place of the old painting of a very sad Gabriel and Adrien.

"I have heard him say one word." Kagami said, "Does he speak?" Hana shook her head,

"I've tried. He seems to know how to talk, but chooses not to. This is the most he's spoken. Maybe he's just excited to finally have a family." Amhar yawned, and Hana handed him back to Psychic Jared, who looked down at the infant,

"What do I do with it?" Then he saw the confused look on Joselyn's face and looked away, tossing the baby to his other. Quantic Jared looked at the baby, who went up in a puff of sparkles and landed in Hana's lap, then making a small noise of disapproval before crawling over to Psychic Jared and sitting next to him. Damnit.

He glared at the infant, "I am seconds away from drop-kicking you." Amhar blinked, before smiling, clearly unaware what that would mean. Hana took him back,

"Jesus Christ!"

"What? I don't like kids." There was a pause where everyone was completely silent. He frowned, "What? It's true, I don't." Then he realized his error and looked to Joselyn, "As in eight and younger. You're fine." Then she calmed down. Drama avoided. The _last_ thing they needed was a 'heroes fight before the climax' cliché.

They landed a few minutes later and Eden looked at Amhar in Hana's arms, "Quantic, watch Amhar, stay in the plane."

"Great!" Kagami pulled out a book,

"Okay, Kilwa Kisiwani—Isle of Fish, where we are right now—is an island off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean, and it was once the center of one of the greatest empires in East Africa. Reaching its pinnacle between the 13th and 15th centuries, the empire ruled by the Kilwa Sultanate stretched all the way from Kenya to Mozambique, covering the entire Swahili coast. Among the ancient structures on the island are the impressive ruins of The Great Mosque, the oldest standing mosque on the East African coast, as well as the Palace of Husuni Kubwa. The palace, which overlooks the island from its home high above, was once the largest building in sub-Saharan Africa."

Zoe looked to the setting sun, "Sweet, we know where the temple is. But we should make camp." It didn't take long to set things up. At some point, Maya left about something or other involving a cinnamon amnesiac child in need of love.

Joselyn was sitting on a log, looking upset. Jared sat with her,

"What's wrong?" She looked up at the sky,

"I was eight years old when we met. Why did you bother being nice to me if you're willing to dropkick your own son?" Jared groaned. Time to get all sentimental.

"It was mostly because you liked my music. After that, Kelly was off in Tibet to try bringing Eden back and you were in my care, and you took care of yourself, and then we became friends. I just can't be trusted to be a full-time caretaker. I warmed up to you over time, and I got Amhar just dropped on me." Joselyn smiled,

"I didn't spend a lot of time with Cam while you were gone, but I think Zoe's fucking with you. Where Amhar came from? No idea. And he really does look like you. He's also on your head." Jared looked up and felt the baby on his head. He took Amhar off his head and narrowed his eyes. He was now pissed at Zoe, and put the baby down.

"Zoe, are you messing with me?" Zoe came over, neither confirming or denying it, simply taking Amhar and passing him to Hana,

Quantic Jared came running, "Sorry! He teleported!" Joselyn smiled,

"Jared, promise you won't actually dropkick or hurt Amhar." He groaned, but something about the look in her eyes was his undoing. Besides, her request was reasonable.

"Promise." He got up, "ZOE!" Zoe turned and then Jared grabbed her arms tight enough to bruise if she was a normal girl, "Is Amhar actually my son or not?" He made sure to sent a message to Kelly that no actual harm would come to Zoe and this was more for intimidation—yes, he would hurt Zoe if her family wasn't beyond OP, and hurting Zoe could lead to true disaster at the mercy of Kelly. Jared knew he himself was strong with the mind stone, but Kelly had thirty years of experience with the same power under his belt, plus reality warping that literally created life. He would rather not end up in the same boat Eli had been, or risk the elder mage going batshit crazy.

Zoe smirked and shifted into Heartless, then summoning her guardian which grabbed his entire torso in one large hand, and started squeezing.

"Wanna try that again?" He let out an animalistic growl,

"Fuck you…bitch…" When he started running out of air, the guardian released him and Jared saw Kelly leaning against a tree,

"Tried to warn you. I wasn't worried for her wellbeing whatsoever." Eden laughed at Jared's misfortune,

"I shouldn't be laughing, but I was about to warn you about the guardian." Zoe re-summoned the guardian and Jared got a good look at it.

"What exactly is it? And why is it's mouth sealed shut with bandages?"

"No idea. It just came like that." She shrugged, "Now all I need is to perfectly imitate Billy Zane and scream 'submit' do not ask why." Seeing as her eyes were the creepy gold color again and her hair was going more silver by the second, he chose not to. He also took a moment to pray that her children took after their relatively gentle father.

Actually when he thought about it, only when killing Mara did Eli show even a fraction of the bloodlust Zoe showed almost on a daily basis, and it was justified after what the witch did to him. They did compliment each other quite well, and he suspected Eli was the only thing to stop Zoe from becoming a villain—other than her laziness.

Amhar crawled over and sent him a worried look unbefitting an infant who couldn't be much older than a year old. Well if Zoe wasn't going to tell him the truth, he'd ask Cam. Only…where did his phone go? _Damnit Zoe. _If he had a dollar for every time he had said or thought "damnit Zoe" since meeting her, he would be richer than Gabriel.

"I will make you pay for this. Until Camille tells me this child is mine, I am going to assume you are fucking with me." Kagami frowned,

"Are you sure it's a good idea to get revenge? Did you see the gigantic thing she summoned, fully capable of crushing you with one hand?" Gizmo nodded,

"How did you do that by the way?"

"Magic."

Amhar was asleep, curled up on the ground. Jared found it annoying, but the others found it cute. Jared looked at the baby with all the hate he could muster.

By the council of death, he when did he start pacing?! He willed himself to stop, realizing the sound of his feet continually crushing the ground may awaken the spawn of all that was evil—excluding Iku and Regina.

Or maybe Amhar thought of his footsteps as therapeutic and would wake up as a result of their ceasing. But he soon managed to calm himself down when Gizmo took the baby and started rocking him in her hair.

He got up with a groan, "I need a moment." Joselyn got up,

"Can I go too?"

"Sure."

They both walked for a bit, looking at the sky. It reminded both of when they watched the stars on Blight, before learning about Iku. Joselyn smiled, watching the stars,

"Jared, can I tell you a secret?" He nodded, and she sighed, "My stepbrother used to watch the stars with me." Jared looked down,

"You have a stepbrother?"

"_Had_." Jared paused,

"Iku?" She nodded.

"He was my first victim…"

Eight years ago

Ben was her first friend, her stepbrother. His dad was a prick, but he was nice. She was three years old when he and his father moved in with them. For a while, she tried to act like her mother—a brat—but Ben very quickly broke down those walls.

He cared for her, was her main caretaker at times, because both her stepdad and mother forgot she existed. It was like Zoe and Eden's relationship. Ben was twelve years older than her, and he was helping her find her birth father. Joselyn knew her stepdad was either her father, or her father was her mother's ex-husband, Mr. Carpenter. Turns out he was the president.

That night, Ben and Joselyn were laying on the trampoline and watching the stars in the Arizona sky.

"You know, Jos." He said, "One day, you and I will go somewhere. No expectations, no wondering when our parents will feed us. You and me against the world." Joselyn grinned,

"You think so?"

Ben sat up, "Yeah." He held his arms out, "Come on, hug?" Without hesitation, Joselyn hugged him, only to hear a choked noise come from him. She back up and saw his eyes wide in terror, as a glowing orb left his mouth and entered hers. All hunger vanished from her, and she watched as his brown eyes turned grey and he fell limp on the trampoline, his eyes slowly closing.

"Ben?" She shook him, beyond confused, "Ben?! Come on, wake up!"

It was three hours later that her heart broke, hearing Ben was in a vegetative state. But there was nothing they could pinpoint to cause that.

But after that first soul, she started craving them, though she managed to satisfy her urges with the souls of the occasional quail or scorpion.

Ben died at the end of the year.

Present day

"That's a big reason you being gone that year affected me like…" she pulled up her sleeve, "I started trying to get to know you because you reminded me of him. And losing you was reliving that night again. To think Iku almost caused me to lose you both…" Jared smiled sadly, wrapping an arm around her,

"I'm not him. I'm still here. And I know he wouldn't blame you. You were three and believed magic didn't exist, how were you supposed to know? Hell, even when you had to kill for sustenance, you only went for bad people, and it was basically hunting for food like one would a gazelle. But hey," he shrugged, "Worst case the council bickered over him for a bit and then he was at peace. And that's another thing to punch Iku for once we get her out of you."

Joselyn let herself smile, "Jared, be honest, did you see yourself in this situation when you joined this family?"

"Oh hell no." He admitted, "When I said I would help her, I thought it would be a week-long scavenger hunt and then I would go back to Blight and forget about it. But no, it's been three years, I have a girlfriend, little sister, and have also been in a coma for a year and developed mind powers. And stupid telekinesis I can't control. If it could be useful and not just pick things up, that would be great." He gestured to the lizard that was floating around, "And I have also met at _least_ three versions of myself."

The moment was throughly ruined when Zoe ran at them, "Sauce of Death!" They both turned and saw one of the shadow monsters looking at them. Jared blinked,

"Okay, Maya is odd, so I let that pass when she called it that. But are those things seriously made of soy sauce?!"

"It looks like it is." Eden pointed out, and even Jared could not deny it looked like a giant blob of soy sauce with a big red eye. It wasn't doing anything at the moment, so everyone was staring at it, and it stared back. Jared opted to just call it a shadow monster, but sauce of death was sadly quite fitting for this thing.

"It's talking." Hana mused to herself. Quantic Jared turned,

"What's it saying?"

"Hello, I am here to kill you, Enchantress. I would like to apply for the position of murder." She turned, "No seriously, I'm not nutshelling or anything." Kelly looked to Joselyn,

"Run!" Joselyn then realized the same thing and sprinted away, the creature following.

"Oh fuck no." Jared ran after her, to help her out, while Hana summoned a sword made of dark energy and vanished completely, as dozens more of the creatures came down, chasing Joselyn.

Eden and Zoe transformed into their respective forms, and attacked a good chunk of them with lightening. Gizmo was using various guns, while Kagami tried using her ice and fire powers and Quantic Jared tried turning them into different materials—which wasn't going well since they had no idea what these things were, but it was working.

Psychic Jared was trying to keep Joselyn safe with his forcefields—the one thing he was good at other than mind-reading—and cutting through the monsters. Also, Amhar was a priority, because the baby's teleporting could make things go to shit.

"Is he with Zoe?" He turned and saw Amhar with Kelly, "Good enough—shit, he's back with me." Amhar had teleported to him, and was sitting on his shoulder, "Shoo, you little beast." He took the child in his hands, put him in a forcefield bubble, and tossed the bubble to Heartless, only for it to be intercepted by a dark blur. It had the overall shape of a young woman, but was fully comprised of dark energy, other than two beady gold eyes.

It didn't take long to realize Hana was using her powers and had developed an anti-form, and was using it to kick major ass.

At this point, Jared had learned multiple things 1) these things didn't have minds, 2) they were only after Joselyn, 3) Hana was a badass. Seriously. Hana sliced through another monster. Damn.

It actually made sense when he thought about it. Jared and Eli formed a friendship in the Realm of Darkness—it was easier since Eli was the closest to normal in that insane family, other than his bullshit bad luck and horrific abuse story—and Eli mentioned how he knew Hana had gone through the same shit he did, but he hadn't seen it, and she always stood up to Douglas to defend Eli, and to his knowledge got off easy. If Hana became a Shadow Charmer around six, and spent the next few years mastering her abilities, she would be too dangerous to abuse, but she didn't have anywhere else to go. Though looking at her when she wasn't a shadow-demon, Jared wouldn't have expected that, she looked very innocent and young, even though Jared knew Hana was two years older than him.

(Though he had thought the same of Zoe at one point, that she couldn't be too much of a threat—that thought ended within ten seconds when she blasted him repeatedly with lightening.)

Tenshi was also holding her own, and she managed to match her sister with hand-to-hand combat, and was using her light powers more on the offensive instead of defensive like she used to. It was surprising how destructive her light powers were, being used in blasts from her hands to kill the shadow monsters.

At this point, they were at a point that for every monster they killed, a dozen more came from somewhere. Hana had gone feral and was actually clawing at things like an animal, all while protecting Amhar—who apparently didn't need much protecting, as he teleported away from attacks, and even released explosions of light from his tiny body.

But now, Jared's energy was on keeping the monsters away from Joselyn. If she used her powers, the monsters became even more attracted to her, so he had to used his forcefields and also tossed her the dirk he had given her what felt like a lifetime ago. How things had changed in a year and a half. He always had the knife on his person, but didn't let her have it until he was sure she wouldn't attack herself with it. If another scar was found on her body, he would lose it.

"ENOUGH!" A loud shriek was heard, and everyone, including the monsters, froze at the voice.

Jared turned and saw Kelly floating a few inches off the ground, with his eyes closed, and his clothing now was a gold and amber collared suit adorned with black accents, black trousers, a brown belt embellished with a blood-red stone, and dark brown boots.

His eyes opened, revealing golden cat-like eyes. His voice was feminine now.

"That is enough." The being possessing Kelly said calmly. The monsters all looked to each other, and then they started talking as a hive-mind in English.

"Lady Pikko!"

At the mention of the dead Lion kwami, Quantic Jared shrieked, Kagami and Gizmo looked curious, Zoe and Eden were confused, Hana was busy keeping Amhar in a ball of shadow to prevent teleporting, Psychic Jared didn't really care—Joselyn was obviously the bigger priority to him. Joselyn herself was hiding behind him, clinging to his hand a little and shaking, he responded by holding her closer.

The monsters started gathering around Pikko possessing Kelly, "My lady, why do you remain in this boy?"

"My reason does not concern you." Pikko replied, "But Iku is docile. We are here for the Negojre stone, but the vessel must live."

"But…you are aware that to kill Iku—"

"I am aware." Pikko replied, "I've already worked around that. My point is that by my orders, you are to stop the attack and harm us no more." To Psychic Jared's relief, the monsters did stop, and even bowed.

"Your Highness, as atonement for our sins, let us free you from your mortal binds." Pikko's eyes widened as all of the monsters flew at the mark on Kelly's wrist where the Lion Miraculous used to be,

"DON'T!" But it was too late. The second even one touched Kelly's wrist, there was a bright flash of light.

Jared remembered what Harrison had said so long ago.

_"__Someone attacked his scar? Kelly doesn't know, but any magic there causes his system to overload and he falls comatose. Last time it was a few hours, the time before that was a few weeks…I don't know when he'll wake up."_

God. Fucking. Damnit.

Kelly's clothing changed to normal and he collapsed.

The monsters started looking between each other in confusion, but Tenshi roared, leasing an explosion of light from her body and decimated them all.

She fell to her knees and spat out some blood, her body hadn't been prepared to do that. She got up, changing back into Eden.

"Other than Dad, is anyone hurt?" Nobody was. The three Carpenter girls ran over to their Dad and tried to wake him up, only Joselyn unaware it was a lost cause since she hadn't been there last time. Magic overload, he would wake up in his own time. When? No fucking clue.

Zoe picked up Kelly, carrying him back to the jet and setting him down gently.

"Quantic, first we unlock the temple, then you and Kagami stay here and care for him and Amhar. It's safer to do this than be in the temple." Quantic Jared nodded eagerly,

"So just watch him while he sleeps? Sounds like a plan!" He then looked at Amhar, bouncing him, "I don't really know what to do with children, but I'll try." They all turned when they heard someone coming into the jet.

"Hello?" When they saw who came into the jet, most of the team was unfamiliar with her. But Psychic Jared, Zoe, and Eden knew her all too well. But how?! Two of the three had watched her die!

"MARA?!"

**A/N: Yup, Mara is here. And Pikko appeared by possessing Kelly. And Hana's powers being explored. Poor Amhar doesn't know what he's gotten himself into. **

**As usual, remember to review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: The split and the illness**

It was odd to see Psychic Jared and Zoe agreeing on something for longer than a few seconds. But the expression on their faces while staring at one very much alive Mara Blackwell was identical. First it was fear, then rage, then bloodlust, and then they both pulled out a weapon and went for the kill.

Mara meanwhile, wasn't behaving like the evil witch Kagami had read about the moment she got her hands on Harrison's magic tablet.

Quantic Jared was the one who had enough and took a risk to turn a washcloth into sodium, put water on it to spark an explosive reaction, and threw it at the two very dangerous people in order to get them away from the girl, Mara apparently.

"Woah! What is your deal?!" He looked to the girl who was scared out of her mind, and looking moments away from passing out. She was very beautiful, he had to admit, with long moon-white hair, eyes the color of dark gold, and tan skin, and her outfit seemed to have been a stolen dress, because it was too large, and it was also very dirty.

Psychic Jared and Zoe both growled, "Fuck off, Chipmunk. This is between us and her." Quantic Jared actually took a risk and got between them and the girl,

"What did she do to you?!"

"She tried to kill us! And Eli!" Zoe snapped, "And hurt my dad, and Amelia! And is overall a major thorn in our side!" The girl looked beyond confused,

"What are you talking about?! I don't even know you! I just saw you carrying someone and I wanted to see if I could help!" Zoe bared her teeth, turning her hand into a sword, putting it at Mara's throat,

"Nice try. But I will always remember the witch who made me lose my mate." Quantic Jared was now beyond confused. Fortunately, Joselyn was with him here,

"How about you read her mind, Jared?" She suggested. Psychic Jared shrugged, his eyes dulling the red color, turning to a chartreuse color.

"Huh?" he frowned, "She genuinely doesn't remember anything." Zoe narrowed her eyes,

"Maybe it's because Eli killed her. But I guess we can keep her alive." She summoned dark chains and put them on Mara's wrists, "But she stays here. Eden, guard until we unlock the temple." Eden nodded, and the team left—and then Eden whacked Mara over the head with a metal water bottle.

"So…" Hana asked, "That's the bitch who shattered Eli's soul? I expected more."

"She looked much more intimidating before." Zoe said, "And then I roasted her face and locked her in a hell of my creation for awhile. Then she looked undead." Jared nodded,

"Yeah, she looked quite disturbing when I saw her. I did wonder a little what she looked like before that." Gizmo was using her hair to give her a boost she she didn't have to crane her neck to talk to Psychic Jared—who was now 6'10,

"So you said she really had no idea?"

"Yeah. There's nothing about us, just living here. I doesn't make any sense." Quantic Jared raised an eyebrow,

"So you are chaining up a girl and you don't even know if she's guilty of what you say?" Zoe huffed,

"Just because she doesn't remember doesn't mean she didn't do it. It's not like there are two Mara Blackwell with the same appearance, voice, and from what I could sense powers."

They made it to the temple, and three of the stone wielder summoned their swords—it had been proven it was safer with more swords, but they only needed one, so they could still unlock it—and aimed them at the door.

Quantic Jared's was a falchion-esque sword, with a red, purple and blue blade shaped like a bird's wing. Its handle bore an amethyst gem, and the handle itself consists of dark braids.

Kagami's was round and curvaceous to the point of appearing harmless. One side of the hilt was formed in the shape of a breaking ocean wave, while the other was formed into a beige vine of sand that wrapped around the shaft, which was colored to resemble a sunset. The vine connects to a pattern of colorful flowers.

Kagami looked at hers, "Seriously?! Could it be any more girly?" Joselyn shrugged,

"I don't think so." Zoe clapper her hands,

"Guys, can we do this so someone other than my sister can keep an eye on Mara and Dad?" The three stone wielders floated off the ground and launched a beam of light at the door, which made the ruins piece back together into a temple. Nothing as drastic as North or South America, but still.

Quantic Jared and Kagami walked back to the jet, and Eden came running back,

"Okay! Ready?" The team nodded, and went in, only for both Psychic Jared and Joselyn to fall limp immediately and collapse.

"Huh?!" Gizmo sprinted over and tried to wake Joselyn up, "Jos?!" Nothing.

Hana looked around, "Oh, there's a sign right there." She gestured to some gibberish that was on the door, "No death entities, no mind mages. Shall not wake until stone's power is taken." Gizmo then sprinted through the castle. Zoe used her magic to quickly dump the two sleeping people in the jet, and then went back to the temple.

OoOoO

Morrigan had been watching this all unfold, sighing at the fact nobody read the sign.

She then walked into Empty's domain, which was a sea of blackness. The occasional angel was sleeping in the area—and of dear god, she knew Felix Sommers was going to spark one hell of an argument, being the son of an archangel, yet raised by a Worldbender and a Warlock.

"Empty! I need to talk to you!"

"Hello Morrigan." She turned and saw Empty was no longer just black sludge. Technically Empty was non-binary, but would shift into the form of someone who could help the angel or vanishing soul go to sleep. This form was a girl with violet eyes and long black wavy hair that reached past her shoulders. She wore the a uniform which consisted of a long-sleeved dress shirt, a red necktie, a black-pleated skirt, and brown shoes with matching socks.

Morrigan smiled, "Nice." Empty looked down at her outfit,

"I like it too. Might stick in the form for a bit. Anyway, what do you need?"

"They found your temple." She said, "So which do you see as worthy: Hana Miller or Grace McAllister?" Empty put a finger under her chin,

"Hm…" She snapped her fingers and two files appeared, which she looked through. Then she looked up with a panicked expression,

"You are aware Grace McAllister with the power of any stone could become a nightmare villain. Her lack of emotion is dangerous. Joselyn is the only emotions, so when the inevitable sacrifice happens…"

"Yeah." Morrigan nodded, "So Hana?" Empty nodded,

"Yes, Ms. Miller would make a wonderful champion, especially with her Shadow Charmer powers." Morrigan nodded, turning to leave, but then turned back,

"You felt that shift, didn't you? The feeling, that something terrible is about to transpire." Empty nodded.

"I felt it. Beware Morrigan, things are going to go into endgame territory the moment Cradh's stone is activated." Morrigan nodded,

"I know…"

OoOoO

Quantic Jared was sitting in the jet, more than a little uncomfortable.

Zoe had dropped off Psychic Jared and Joselyn, both fast asleep and nothing could wake them. But it wasn't a coma, it was just natural sleep, and Psychic had already wrapped an arm protectively around Joselyn as the young girl snuggled closer. Amhar had also chosen to sleep by them

Kagami was using a cold washcloth and had it on Kelly's forehead. From what he had been told, he had expected the mage to be in a coma, and nothing would wake him. But he was behaving like he had a fever and was having a nightmare.

Mara was chained to the ground, with a black eye. She seemed scared out of her mind and was crying quietly. He felt really bad for her, she didn't seem to be anything like what the others claimed, but he knew that while Zoe was a lot of things, liar was not one of them—unless she had a good reason to. But while he was wary of the white-haired witch, he was not afraid of her nor held any hostility.

Kagami looked down at Kelly, "He's getting worse." Quantic Jared looked down at Kelly and knew she was right.

Kelly's cheeks were burning with the flush of fever. He cried for help from time to time—Jared had thought he was imagining it, but being close made him realize Kelly was actually crying out—but there was no strength in his voice, just a whisper. His breath quivered in short, quick gasps every time he inhaled, his lungs having no choice but to painfully and rigidly take in the chilled air around him. He couldn't seem to stop shaking either.

Kagami grabbed a bottle of water and gently poured the contents into Kelly's mouth. Quantic Jared smiled a little when Kelly calmed, but then panicked when Kelly let out a deafening scream, and started flailing.

"Get things out of the way that he could hurt himself on!" Kagami ordered, and he scrambled around to get rid of any hard or sharp things, and then stole some pillows from around and used them as padding in case Kelly rolled off the bed.

Then things started floating around the room and things started changing into other things. All the while Kelly's cries got louder and more desperate.

Kagami coated her hands in ice, placing a hand on Kelly's forehead to try calming him or at least snapping him out of it. Her hair started changing colors and lengths the longer she had contact with Kelly, until an explosion of magic escaped him, sending her flying backwards, her hair now dark brown, but the same length as it usually was—waist length in a ponytail.

Mara was watching this, then looked to Quantic Jared, "I can help him. Just let me go."

Quantic Jared weighed his options. Kagami had already made a lie detector, and she was honest when she said she had no idea who they were. But he doubted Psychic Jared, Zoe and Eden were all wrong. So this was just a bundle of confusion.

Still, Kelly's screams were becoming more pained by the second, but at the same time he was becoming weaker. Kagami looked at him, and he looked at her.

Neither had to made the decision, because Amhar teleported over to Mara, releasing a light explosion from his body and breaking the chains Zoe had created.

Mara got up, running to Kelly, who had started floating a few inches off the bed. Quantic Jared walked over as Mara placed her hands on both sides of Kelly's head. Kelly's eyes flew open, only his eyes were very, very wrong.

There there should be sapphire, identical to his eldest daughter, was instead completely white other than a swirl of black.

"no…no…" Kelly was panting, and looked utterly miserable. Quantic Jared was unsure how he felt about this. Was this what would happen if he let any sort of monster touch him? Or was it just Kelly? Because it was scaring him quite frankly.

Mara smiled reassuringly, "Shhh…deep breaths…deep breaths…in, out…" her hands were still on both sides of his head, glowing a nice golden color, and Kelly started to calm down. Mara's eyes took the weird swirly look as Kelly's eyes returned to normal. Kelly's eyes were open, just a crack, and he smiled,

"Thanks Mar…" then he fell limp, his breathing even and fever broken.

Mara fell to the ground.

Quantic Jared dashed over to her, noticing she wasn't harmed, just tired. Kagami tapped Kelly, then shaking him gently. Kelly opened his eyes,

"Hey…you okay?" He looked down at Mara and smiled. Kagami frowned,

"Why are you smiling? Maybe you can explain."

"Yes. I can. That's only half of Mara." He sat up, "I saw quite a bit while I was out, things I wouldn't have normally. After Morrigan died, she was consumed with guilt. Regina called her weak, and split her soul into two beings—one of pure light and one of pure dark. Three guesses which one she kept and which one she left to die. You see, without help—whether it be someone providing strength, or just general healthcare—the weaker half will perish…"

Many years earlier

Regina stood alone on the island, carrying a girl wrapped in a blanket.

"This place, it's like a prison. You should be right at home here." She draped the girl over a log and turned to leave, "Not that you'll live to sunrise." Then she was gone.

But the girl hadn't died.

_"__Hey! Can you hear me?"_

She found herself falling, and found herself on a shattered white platform.

"Who are you? How did you find me?"

_"__The light brought me. Was it you?" _She touched the tip of her pointed ears, then put a hand on her bare chest,

"Yeah…that was my light. But my soul is fractured. And the little I have left is slipping away." Then she saw the platform start to mend itself.

"There. Now no more will slip away, and one day you will be strong enough to regain what you lost. Welcome back, Mara."

Mara smiled. She had no memory of anything, but that name sounded right, "Thanks."

Then she opened her eyes.

Present day

"Even if they survive, the weaker half will have no memories of their previous life." Kelly looked down at Mara, "So the girl right there is Mara Blackwell, but basically the exact opposite of the Mara that Zoe and Jared know." He smiled, "So I guess that if Mara means evil, her name would be Alina."

Kagami looked to Mara in Quantic Jared's arms, "So…what do we do with her? If we introduce her to the others, they will likely have the same reaction as Zoe and Jared." Kelly got up, stumbling, so Kagami helped him to the ground, "Are you sure you should be moving?"

"I'm fine." He assured, "She helped me by expelling the foreign magic. In return, I'll give her a fresh start." Her white hair turned mauve, and her eyes changed to pale blue; her clothes changed to a one button dark teal-grey cardigan and a hood that had pointed ears on the top and two pink eye-like markings on the front, with jeans and pink flats. She opened her eyes,

"Thank you." She sat up, "Jared…Kagami…" she smiled to Amhar, "Amhar…" then she looked to Kelly, "I couldn't cure you, just expel the foreign magic to slow your symptoms that were triggered by it. But the others—" He shrugged,

"I've had it before and taught Zoe how to help people through it. It actually might come in handy in the case of Chipmunk."

"Huh?!" Kelly turned,

"It's just a magic side-effect where someone acts the opposite as they usually would. When I had it last time, I said the exact opposite of what was real. So if I suddenly start spewing lies, I'm ill and need to rest. You, Jared, might suddenly become very brave and impulsive." He shrugged, "Or you or I might have a psychological breakdown, that happened once too. To nutshell it, it's a reaaaally annoying disease where you get a high fever, along with various other symptoms that are full of despair. It sucks."

"I'm regretting my choices of the last month even more now…"

Then both Psychic Jared and Joselyn shot upright.

OoOoO

Hana stood in the room with the sapphire stone. There was something very alluring about it…was this how the others had felt?

She looked down at the sleeping forms of the others. As they had progressed through the temple, the others slowly started falling asleep. Gizmo was the first down, having to drag almost eight feet of hair behind her, then Eden, and lastly Zoe. Hana had been carrying Eden bridal style, and let her shadow—which had a mind of its own when she let it—carry Gizmo and Zoe.

She knew there was a sleeping curse over the temple, and also knew that since she was a Shadow Charmer and didn't need sleep, she wasn't bothered even a little.

"If I do this, there's no going back." She looked to Eden, who looked damn gorgeous and also looked peaceful for the first time since the war. She smiled, taking the moment to kiss Eden's cheek tenderly, suspecting she would never get to express her feelings officially, "I love you, Eden Imelda. And I always will."

She then placed her hand on the sapphire, and was granted the power of sleep and tranquility. Hana felt all of her friend affected wake up, and rushed to Eden's side.

Eden yawned, "Han?" Hana grinned,

"Hey. We got the stone. Only one more!" Gizmo helped Zoe up,

"That's great!" She then ran off, "I need to go check on Joselyn!" Zoe rolled her eyes,

"Is Joselyn the only person who can show off Gizmo's emotion?" Eden nodded,

"I think so." She wrapped an arm around Hana, "Come on, Han! We should be heading back."

Hana nodded. She knew she was just a lesbian in _way_ over her head, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

OoOoO

"So Mara really isn't the same evil bitch who tried to kill us?" Zoe asked, looking to Mara, "Well shit, sorry." Mara smiled cheerfully,

"It's fine. After Kelly explained the context, it makes perfect sense." Her smile was practically contagious, and both Psychic Jared and Zoe were shocked that all it took was a hair and eye color change, and then there was no way they could associate her with the old Mara.

"Can I call her Chiaki?" Zoe asked. Kagami shrugged,

"We've been calling her Alina, but go ahead." Mara was playing with Amhar, having created a little creature out of energy—like in the way Dr. Strange made those shields and shit. She was already doing better with tha baby than all the others combined.

"Okay," Psychic Jared turned to Zoe, "Is he really my son?"

"No." She admitted, "But…his parent situation is complicated, and since you've basically adopted Joselyn, and helped me take care of the twins while in the Dark Realm, you seemed like a reasonable choice."

He lunged at her, "I'M GOING TO _KILL_ YOU, BITCH!"

Kelly was once again sleeping to try slowing his symptoms, so he didn't see his daughter and basically-apprentice rolling around and trying to get a blow at each other.

Psychic Jared then remembered he had mental attacks he could use, and decided to use them, winning easily.

It was Kelly's voice that stopped him.

"Jared?" He looked up, and the expression on the elder mage's face made him release Zoe.

"I…" This wasn't going to be fun, since Kelly was very protective of his children. But to his shock, Kelly's face then lost all emotion and his eyes started changing in a way as he spoke.

"Huh? Is that all you can say? Ah, so in the end, you're all just a bunch of bullies, huh? Justifying your actions with fancy words. M-Making excuses for why it's not really your fault." He sounded more and more like he was going to cry, yet still remained eerily stoic as he spoke, while almost sounding high-pitched in a manner that had an underlying insanity and sent chills up even Gizmo's spine.

Then he started sobbing, "People always treat me like that…always… 'It is not my fault!' 'He is the one with the problem!'" And then he went crazy, with the weird swirly eyes, tearing at his hair, "I'M DONE WITH THAT! YOU HEAR ME?! I'M DOOOOOOOONE!"

Joselyn's eyes widened, "H-Hey…Dad…?"

Tears were spilling down Kelly's cheeks, "It's not fair! Not fair not fair not fair not fair notfair notfair notfairnotfairnotfairnotfair!"

Zoe was slowly regaining consciousness, and Psychic Jared held his hands out in a way one would to comfort someone,

"Kelly…calm down…she's not hurt too badly." Then Kelly looked up, showing off the swirly eyes in all their nightmare fuel, and Jared realized that he should have waited to get revenge on Zoe, because her Dad had just snapped.

Mara got up and looked to Hana, "His symptoms started of the more psychological part of the illness. Hana, I need you to get him to sleep."

Hana looked at her hands, "I don't know…what if I…"

"Just do it." Mara said it sweetly but firmly, "He will become a danger to himself and others, so he needs to sleep."

"Okay." Hana's hands began to glow blue, and then Kelly fell asleep.

Zoe sighed, "It's not your fault, Jared. He gets like that sometimes. It happened a few times when I was little." Quantic Jared was hiding behind Kagami a little,

"You're saying that's happened before?!"

"Yup." She nodded, "Imagine being little me, and having your dad come home from war and immediately start screaming for forgiveness. There is a reason I'm pretty fucked up."

"Yeah…" Joselyn clung to Psychic Jared, "That was creepy."

"Yup. It will get worse." Zoe said, "So we should get back, that way he can get proper care."

"He'll be okay, right?" Eden asked, having been too young last time to remember those days when her Dad was so sick he was unrecognizable.

"Yeah. He just some TLC and rest, then he'll be back to normal."

"Okay." Gizmo said, "Let's go home then."

OoOoO

Kelly, meanwhile, was dreaming.

His illness was causing all sorts of delirium, but then he found himself in a council room of the sort, where he saw five people at the table—one of which was Freya. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves, but then the sixth came in, and Kelly gasped, especially when Freya turned and her voice could be heard.

"Morrigan! How did the stone thing go?" Morrigan nodded,

"Things went great. Hana Miller is the new recruit." Another young woman nodded,

"Good. I think it's time you tell Kelly the truth, of your lack of having died." Morrigan shook her head,

"No. I can't…I would rather he see me as a friend under the guise of just 'Death', than have him hate me."

And then Kelly found himself falling, and let his illness take over for a time.

_"__Morrigan…why?"_

**A/N: And now Kelly knows about Morrigan, and is sick and crazy. And Mara now exists as a good guy.**

**Remember to review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Forgive me**

Psychic Jared carried Kelly into the mansion, as it was clear he was too weak to stand and needed lots of rest. Over the course of the flight, he had lost consciousness and stayed unconscious for most of the time after his outburst, foamed at mouth, was incapable of moving and even had a moment where he was close at dying.

He couldn't help but wonder if him attacking Zoe in revenge had somehow caused Kelly to wake up and make him snap. It had been scary, seeing how his health went in a downward spiral in that moment, to have to comfort a crying Joselyn as Hana, Eden and Zoe tended to the ailing man. He himself wasn't affected too much

Right now, Kelly's face was beet red and his skin glistens in a way that had everyone worried. Even stripped down to nothing but his boxers, he was burning and all they could do was open let the late autumn wind do him some good, the rest of them shivering and wearing coats.

Harrison was the first one out, followed seconds later by Amelia and Emilie, who took Kelly from Jared and carried him to his room.

"How far along?" Harrison turned to Zoe, "Assuming you even know what this is."

"Yeah, I've seen it before. He's reached the point of delirium and crazy eyes." Harrison nodded to himself, wrapping Kelly in a blanket and slipping a nightshirt on him.

"Alright, Emilie, I need cold compress, cold water, and washcloths. Amelia, bandage wrap and blankets, lots of blankets—and pajama pants."

"We had to strip him down to try getting his temperature under control." Eden explained, "It was at 138! That's a death sentence! Hell, 110 is a death sentence!" Harrison nodded,

"Yeah. But for Kelly and this illness, it's normal. Still on the high side, but with magical illnesses, we need to both cool him down and keep him warm. You have no idea how many 'hard ways' we discovered in our years of treating him." Amelia and Emilie came back, with Gabriel in tow, and Harrison got the red pajama bottoms on his best friend, and the put the cold compress on his forehead, back, and armpits.

Kelly opened his eyes, still the creepy swirl, which almost looked like that black and white swirl often used in movie hypnotism.

"Mor…?" Harrison paused, before shrugging, using the water—courtesy of Gabriel, to soak the washcloth and rub it along Kelly's arms,

"It's me, Harry. Just try to sleep, Kels. I know it hurts, but you need to focus on getting better." Kelly shook his head,

"Mor…why did you hate me? Please forgive me…" Amelia ran in hands through Kelly's hair, humming quietly until he was asleep.

Plagg came in, smiling,

"Hey guys. So Europe last?" Zoe turned,

"Yeah. Wanna join?"

"Yeah! First quest as normal Fae." He shrugged, "That and the council of death said I had to go otherwise they would kill me. So…thumbs up." Amhar teleported onto the bed and tapped Kelly's cheek, recoiling when he felt the heat. Then he started crying.

Camille came in, "Zoe, you evil bitch. Jared, Amhar is not ours."

"I already learned that. Wait…how did you know?" Camille pulled out her phone and showed him a picture,

"I tried to text you, but she hid your phone. What happened to Kelly?"

"I really need to learn not to attack Zoe in a mile radius of him." Jared said with a shrug.

"It wasn't that." Zoe assured, even though he didn't really seem to care, "It was the damn Sauces of Death. Though you did wake him up, and that didn't help." Quantic Jared and Kagami were watching Kelly start squirming,

"So…he mentioned we could also get this illness because we're stone wielders." Quantic Jared said, "Is there a cure, or do I have to find one?"

"There isn't one." Harrison said, "I've been trying for a while. But to find a cure would mean to actually make Kelly sick intentionally. And I can't put my best friend through this."

Chloe came in, "Hey Kagami." She looked down, "What happened to Kelly?"

"He's sick, and this is gonna suck treating." Amelia said, "But Harry, Tazri and I have treated this before—speaking of which, Harry, where is Tazri? Surely you've talked to her since the last time I asked." To the surprise of everyone, Harrison looked ashamed, and Amelia knew what that meant, "For the love of god, I'm gonna go hunt her down."

Kelly started coughing and Emilie gently poured some water into his mouth, "You guys go, we'll stay with him."

Adrien ran in, "Plagg, there you are." Plagg turned,

"I'm gonna go with the others! No, you can't stop me. I have been around since the beginning of time—give or take ten minutes—so I can handle it." Adrien sighed, smiling,

"Just be careful. Zoe," he looked to his stepsister, "Take care of him." Zoe nodded and they were once again off, now to the suspected location of the final stone.

Harrison looked to his friend as the others left. Even under a light cotton sheet, with ice packs and cold compresses on his body, Kelly was radiating heat like a brick right out of the oven.

Gabriel had a floating orb of water, which he was using to slowly, get Kelly's hair wet. Felix came in,

"Hey hey," he looked at his grandfather, his hands glowing a little with healing magic, but Amelia stopped him,

"We just got him to sleep. If you want to be a helper, can you watch the kids?" Felix nodded and ran off to the playroom.

Hugo was flying around with Amren, having given himself wings. Roxas was sitting in the corner, reading Braille quietly. Aelin had a bubble with fire in it, which she was controlling and using as a heater. Emma had picked up Catra with her telekinesis. Gavin was drawing in the corner. Elaine was playing chess with herself. Danielle and Amhar was playing with baby toys on the floor.

"Fe!" Roxas ran over to his big brother, "Come play with us!" Felix grinned, picking up all three of his little siblings. Yes, he wondered about his birth parents—and he did appreciate that Zoe and Eli never tried to hide that he was adopted, which could have led to drama later in life—but he wouldn't trade his adopted parents or siblings for anything.

"What do you want to play?"

"Jurassic Park!" Aelin cheered, "We were watching the movie and it sounds fun! I want to be an employee!" Felix sighed, knowing children between the ages of 1-10 should not have seen that movie, but whatever.

"Okay, time to play. No going into Kelly's room, other than that, the mansion is our theme park."

OoOoO

It was around midnight when Kelly woke up again. He shivered, even though his temperature was still dangerously high. Emilie was the first to see him open his eyes and shook Harrison, Gabriel and Amelia awake.

"Hey Kels," she kissed him, "How're you feeling?" Kelly didn't seem to register her all that much,

"Forgive me…" Emilie frowned,

"Huh?" Harrison and Amelia looked to each other,

"Oh no." Gabriel ran out of the room to grab something, while Kelly started going nuts again,

"Why won't you forgive me?! If you did something wrong…you'd forgive yourself right away! What did I do?! WHY WON'T ANYONE FORGIVE ME!?" He started bawling, "I-It's totally crazy! I didn't do anything wrong to you! Why does everybody always hate me?! PLEASE! JUST FORGIVE ME ALREADY!"

Gabriel came back with Zoe's amulet Maeve had given her in her final moments, "I-Is he really okay? He's emotionally unstable." Kelly continued to wail,

"Please, forgive me already! Forgive meeeeeee!" Gabriel put the amulet around Kelly's neck, and Maeve's soul was released, and she appeared. Kelly paused, once again becoming calm, "Huh? Huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh."

Maeve walked over, sitting on the bed, "Kels…shhhh…you didn't do anything wrong." She started rubbing his back, showing Emilie how to hit the pressure points that calmed him down. Emilie looked at the spirit of her husband's ex, and found the aura around her was drastically different from the Darkling. She too was responsible for Zoe's looks.

Kelly started calming down, now quite out of his outburst, but not angry and less desperate. He looked to Maeve with teary eyes,

"Then you'll forgive me?" She smiled,

"It's my own fault. I told you not to read my mind. You would have found out immediately if I hadn't said that. Zoe understands. I understand. I forgive you." She looked to the amulet, "I love watching my children and grandchildren grow, but I need you to break the amulet. Understand?" Amelia took the amulet off Kelly's neck and threw it on the ground. Maeve smiled as she was enveloped in sparkles,

"Tell my Fireheart I love her. I'll go get help." She glared at Emilie, "Take care of him, or I will haunt you." Then she was gone, truly at peace.

"Okay…" Gabriel grabbed another wet washcloth, "Ya good?" Kelly was quiet for a few minutes, before melting into Emilie's embrace and crying. Harrison and Amelia joined in moments later.

"I won't stop until you forgive me…" it was a whisper, but then Gabriel saw the crazy eyes and then realized there was someone else Kelly wanted the forgiveness of other than his ex-wife.

"Wha—What the fuck's wrong with him? He's getting weirder by the minute!"

What Gabriel had learned was that crazy eyes meant bad things. Maeve's massage trick helped a little, but he needed that person he wanted the forgiveness of. But who was it?!

"Will you forgive me? You'll forgive me, right?" He was getting faster as he spoke, laughing hollowly, "Isn't that right? You're obviously gonna forgive me, right?"

"At this rate, we're not getting anywhere." Amelia sighed.

Kelly screamed, "You still haven't forgiven me?! I'll do anything you want! Why only me?!"

"Screw it." Amelia got on the phone to call the team, specifically Psychic Jared, "Jared, I need you to summon Freya. Kelly's getting worse, maybe she can help."

_"Um…okay?" _Freya appeared moments later, bending down at Kelly's side,

"Kels, please listen, you are surrounded by people who love you and know there is nothing they have to forgive you for. You haven't done anything wrong." He didn't seem to hear her,

"Wh-Why can't you forgive me…!? Why…!? Why does everybody always hate me?! Please forgive me! You should just forgive me already! Or tell me what I did wrong!"

"I forgive you." Harrison tried. Maybe he felt about about Fu banishing him and the whole drug thing with Harry himself?

To the relief of everyone, Kelly stopped crying. But after a moment, they weren't sure if they preferred that.

"…Heh…heh…heh…Hahahahahahahahaha!" He started laughing, a snapped, broken cackle.

"Whoa!" Emilie backed up, "N-Now he's laughing?!"

"This feeling…I know it well…Like the floor is collapsing…like the sky is falling down upon you!" He continued to laugh,

Amelia grabbed Kelly's shoulders, "Don't just laugh, say something!"

"This is like nothing I've seen before…" Freya said worriedly, "He's actually…gone mental!"

"There's nothing we can do," Harrison said with a sigh, "this isn't the Kelly we know. We need to care for him, and this is going to be a long few days." Gabriel got out his phone again, calling Sam and asking for advice.

"Well…" Sam said eventually, "Why not ask him who he's talking about?"

"He has to be talking about one of us, right?" Gabriel asked. Harrison then brightened,

"Freya, do you know where Morrigan is? In your death system." Freya hesitated,

"About that…uh…she…isn't…in…the system…?"

"WHAT?!" Came from Harrison and Amelia, "How is that possible?!" Amelia asked, "I watched her die!"

"Actually…" they both turned and saw a beautiful young woman, "You saw Jasmine Iwasaba

die." The woman shifted into the form of Morrigan, "I took the opportunity and joined the Council of Death." Kelly seemed too out of it to register her, but Harrison and Amelia were stunned.

Morrigan wore a face like she was expecting anger from them, anger that just didn't exist in that moment. All they had for her was love, all they wanted was to keep her safe. She wouldn't accept it yet, she felt so much misplaced guilt.

Seconds passed, their brains taking her in, struggling to comprehend that she wasn't one of the pictures beside their bed, that she was real. Amelia's mind couldn't formulate a thought, at least not one based in any language, and if she don't touch her twin soon her atoms would tear themselves apart. How the ground between them was erased, she'd never recall, but one moment the three were apart and the next they were morphed into a single being as Morrigan ran at them and sobbed.. The warmth of Morrigan's body met Kelly's scorching skin and the icy skin of the others. One of her hands clasped around Amelia's back, the other stroked Kelly's hair. With each soft touch more tears fell, tears nobody wiped away.

"M…Morrigan…" Amelia breathed, "You're alive…I can't believe you're alive!" They broke the hug, "Y-You look amazing…"

She really did. An avalanche of dark chocolate hair tumbled down her back in a tousled mess, framing her freckled elven features, and the silver diadem she wore, identical to Freya's. Her grey eyes reminded Amelia of ashes and smoke blowing in the wind coming from a fire that burned everything to the ground. They were intense, coming from that fire that burned deep within her soul.

The lustrous, pearl-beaded fabric of her dress glinted, light reflecting from the room's dim glow. It fit flawlessly, the dress molded her torso beautifully, complimenting her feminine shape. The gown draped past her toes, slightly drifting from her legs. It was the color of a midnight blue. It's strapless style revealed her collarbones wrapped in smooth skin. Her posture was perfect, shoulders pulled back and hands held together in front of her. There was a silk band at the top, lining around the top of her bust.

Overall, Morrigan really did look like a Phantom Queen of legend—only in a more alluring fashion.

Morrigan looked down at herself, "This isn't what I usually wear…I generally wear a black dress with a purple corset, and some feathers…but this seemed a bit more appropriate." She looked at Kelly—who was still not lucid enough to fully process this.

"Kels…" She sat down, "I'm sorry. You shouldn't be sorry, I should be." He stared at her blankly, before his expression turned dark,

"Why did you do that?! I THOUGHT YOU COMMITTED SUICIDE AND IT WAS MY FAULT! WHY WOULD YOU _FAKE_ THAT!?" His eyes were still swirling, but they now had a crimson glow behind it.

"I had to escape Regina…" she said, "And…I was stupid, I know. But I was offered the chance to control my powers. Would you pass that up?"

"No. But I would have told my family what I was doing instead of leaving behind trauma!"

"I'm sorry, okay!" She grabbed his shoulders, "You want me to forgive you? Then don't be mad at me! I know I was dumb, but you know I don't handle confrontation well." She sighed as Freya left with Gabriel and Emilie, knowing this was between the four friends.

"I…" Kelly started bawling, clinging to her. Morrigan was still nervous he would be pissed when lucid, but for now, she just appreciated finally being reunited with them. It would make observations and assistance much easier.

"It's okay, Kels…it's okay…"

OoOoO

"H-Huh…" Emilie suddenly woke up…but why? Her body felt really heavy for some reason. No…not just heavy…it felt somewhat soft and…hot.

She then registered that Kelly had almost wrapped himself around her. God, his skin was scorching, it actually felt like fire. Still, it was nice that he came to her. But…

"I…can't…breathe!"

"Ngh….you're tickling me…." Now, in a normal situation, she'd think "Sweet" but not only was his skin literally burning her, he was also suffocating her. And why wasn't he with Morrigan, Harry and Amelia?

"Nghhh…no…you can't…don't move around…" Kelly's eyes slowly opened as he mumbled, but then he realized where he was, "AHH! Em-Em-Emilie?!"

"Your rock hard pecs are smothering me!" Emilie got out, "I'm not complaining, just saying!" he rolled over and exhaled,

"How did I get here?" She frowned,

"You don't know?"

"Not a clue." Well…he sounded lucid, that was good. Emilie smiled, kissing his forehead and grabbing a cold washcloth,

"Just get some sleep. You wont be of any help to anyone if you can't stand." Then she saw he was already asleep.

Amelia came in, sighing in relief when she saw him, "Good. Hey Em, come see what Felix has done for the kids."

Emilie came out and saw the mansion looked like a rainforest. Danielle toddled by in a dinosaur costume.

But what most adorable was the tiny little 'lab' where Aelin and Roxas sat at two desks, pretending to be scientists.

"It looks like the dinosaurs got out and are eating all of the customers." Roxas said, pretending to type on the computer. Aelin groaned,

"Oh for god's sake, not again!"

"There goes us clocking off early. I had dinner reservations! Unfortunately, so do these raptors—wow, they really do eat children quite fast, don't they?"

"When are they going to learn that this park is a terrible idea?" Emma asked, also in a scientist costume. Roxas threw his hand out,

"Thank you! You would think that when that T-Rex escaped into the city, that would be the end of it."

Emilie started taking a video of the children playing, because it actually was quite cute. Remember these kids looked and sounded like they were five, so this was coming from children barely out of toddlerhood.

"Makes you wonder how the park bounced back after that." Roxas mused.

"Mariah Carey." Emma answered, "When she threw that concert in memory of all the people who lost their lives, they took advantage of the distracted people and rebuilt the park." She giggled, "Anyway, should we head off to the evacuation ship."

"Nah." Roxas mused, "We have a few minutes. Actually, no, I heard a close roar. Get your things."

The adults left the children to play and looked to each other, laughing.

"Why are the children pretending to be me?" Harrison asked, "Those were basically my thoughts on the movie."

"Well it was still cute." Emilie texted the video to Zoe. Kelly was still sleeping peacefully, and Morrigan was sitting by his side. Amelia hugged her sister,

"Oh sister, it is now time for you tell us about your time on the council." Morrigan smiled,

"I hope you like long stories."

**A/N: Kelly is on the road to recovery, the kids are playing, and Morrigan has finally reunited with her family. Mostly just a fluffy chapter. We aren't going to be getting many of those in the near future. Next chapter has the stone-wielding team getting the final stone, and then part 2 begins.**

**And remember to review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: The final stone is obviously the most of a pain in the ass to retrieve—or head in Jared's case**

The final stone was far north, in a cave near the arctic circle, close to Russia.

Because of the strong, icy winds—which were lethal to any normal person after a few minutes—they had to land about forty miles away from the cave where the temple was.

Gizmo looked out the window and through the journal, and they could see the gears turning in her head as her analytical superpower worked.

"Okay, so it's cold as hell, and death entities aren't allowed in. So Joselyn and I will stay here in the jet." Joselyn shrugged as the others put on heavy winter coats, hats, and scarves—for once, Zoe was relieved for her mate's paranoia.

"Bye guys," Hana said, "Try not to get murdered while we're gone!"

They hopped out of the jet and frigid air penetrated their skin instantly, chilling blood and sinking into the marrow of their bones like wet concrete.

Plagg pulled his coat tighter around himself, and Zoe cursed. If it weren't for the fact the journal had had a warning against using magic to lessen the cold, lest the weather get worse, Jared would have done for the team what Kelly did for him in the Ice Waste. Oh how innocent things had seemed back them.

Now though, cold licked at his face and crept under his clothes, spreading across his skin.

"Okay…let's go…"

Within minutes, he had purple lips tinged with blue and gently chattering teeth. He wrapped his coat around himself tighter.

This was going to be a long hike.

The next day

In that wasteland of white, there was nothing for their minds to hang onto. There was no familiar sight, no sound other than the howling, even the light they needed to warm them was instead blinding and no match for the wind. Only the hearts beating in their chests stopped them from becoming as frozen as the landscape. When Zoe whirled around to at least see the tracks they had made, there were none. The only way to navigate was by the sun and even it sunk below the horizon at one point, leaving them shivering under the stars.

The terrain was a nightmare. It was slick, jagged, and icy. They weren't fully sure when they were over land or water—and if it was water, it was a mystery if the ice would hold. They almost lost Eden like that.

The only person who wasn't 1000% miserable was Hana, since she was used to it. Apparently she had been on the streets in New York from ages 6-9, back when it was actually cold in New York during the winter. So she had a little more resistance than the rest. Though Jared did have to thank the internal fire that came with being a magical creature, otherwise he was sure he would have frozen to death by now.

As it was, cold seeped into his innards like a freezing fog making it's way into his bones and wrapping around his brain like a wet blanket. The only thing to do was keep moving, keep heading toward the temple and a then warmth when this was over. Each step became a prayer for home as they walked, and then became the only motivation to keep going. The sooner they did this, the sooner they could kill Iku.

The lack of friction alone made travel difficult, then add constant snowstorms, winds strong enough to lift a small car, and temperatures low enough that they had to keep moving lest they freeze to death in minutes. So none of them had slept in twenty hours.

Though since Gizmo was in the jet, Plagg was going to be taking the final stone—and since the power was Deathtouch, it was perfect for him.

Even Zoe was quiet, that's how he knew it wasn't just him.

Another thing he had done since conversation wasn't an option was thinking.

For the last few days, that one nightmare of Kelly fighting an evil Joselyn came to mind.

_"I'm what nightmares fear!" _

That phrase Kelly said in the dream had stuck with him. He had asked Freya, and she said that he was likely a seer, so he knew that line was important. But what scared him was that he never saw past or before that moment. Who won the fight? How did it happen? Was it really a vision of the future, or was it just a simple reoccurring nightmare?

He didn't know how long they were walking when they finally saw the cave, nor did he really care at that point. All he knew was that the cave meant at least a temporary end to this bitter cold.

They all picked up the pace and got into the cave, but the moment Jared walked to the entrance, he fell to the ground after feeling the force of hitting a brick wall at 50mph.

Zoe turned, "Huh? Jared?" Oh god…oh no…Jared remembered this feeling, after the plane crash. The prison of pain that was a migraine. Stupid side effects. Not that he was surprised, having just ran into a wall. Didn't make it any less excruciating.

She ran over to him, and gently placed his hand at the entrance, only to see a barrier appear for a moment.

"Oh fuck." Hana looked around for some runes, which she didn't find, "I think this is a 'no mind mages' temple. So he's stuck out there in this freezing cold and is going to suffer."

"Shit." Jared could feel the pain building up, and tried to stand, only to fail. Zoe sighed,

"I'll stay with him. If you don't find us when you get the stone, I'm taking him back to the ship." Kagami was the most reluctant to leave, but was dragged inside by Eden. She started digging into her backpack, pulling out a bag labeled 'EMERGENCY' which held an bunch of blankets, some wood stakes, a hammer, and a couple think winter coats, and some little pouches that were designed to heat up when shaken.

So Zoe started setting up shop. This wouldn't have held all of them, four tops if they were willing to sacrifice personal space, but it worked. Most of the blankets were used as walls against the wind. It was still really cold, but the wind wasn't as insufferable. She then wrapped Jared in the spare blankets. Being still like this wasn't good for this health.

If she had to guess, she would say they had been in the shelter for about ten minutes before a blanket wall collapsed, so she had to go out and fix it. She blessed Eli's paranoia and the internal fire of a magic wielder, otherwise she and Jared both would have frozen to death at this point.

Unfortunately, she went back in to see Jared's head covered in snow. She groaned, putting his head in her lap and cleaning the snow off. She knew she herself was cold, but since Jared was too weak to move, he was taking it harder and his lips were purple, along with his fingertips starting to freeze. If it weren't for the flame that resided inside him, both of his hands would be completely frozen and need to be amputated, so this was a relief. She slipped his gloves back on him and hoped they could get back the the ship quickly, because it was going to get worse, and the walk was already long enough.

After a minute of him being too still, she nudged him and he opened his eyes just a crack. Normally Zoe would wonder why his migraine was affecting him like this, since it was usually caused by being able to hear the thoughts of everything in a fifty mile radius and they were in the middle of fucking nowhere. But he did run into a brick wall, and the cold couldn't be helping.

Viirus and Blazze emerged from Zoe's backpack. They had been in there since the start of the trip in animal form, but then came out. They hadn't really been needed until now.

Viirus flew down to Jared, "I don't think we can stay here. It's already too cold for both of you." Zoe nodded,

"Well he's grown like six inches since I carried him last, and I don't think I would be able to do again without transforming." Blazze nodded, before shifting into Fae form,

"No, but we can."

Viirus shifted too. Zoe realized this was the first time he had shifted, at least around her. If she had to guess, he stood seven feet tall—and she was jealous, still being 5'1 and even her eldest son was taller than her—and he wore leather pants and boots. He was even more muscular than Jared, with shoulder-length brown hair and chestnut eyes, and a braided beard. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just a bearskin cloak.

Zoe pulled out a jacket and gave one to both him and Blazze—who was still wearing that rather revealing dress in this death weather—but they both pushed it away,

"We both can survive naked out here for two days before feeling any negative effects." Viirus assured, "Use them for yourself or Jared." She nodded, putting another jacket around herself, and wrapping another blanket and a jacket around Jared—who Viirus had given the bearskin cloak to. When Viirus picked him up, he didn't even look like he was carrying a person, just a large thing of blankets.

Blazze turned to Zoe, "I can carry you. Viirus and I can travel faster than you, since we aren't bothered by the cold." Normally she would argue, but even Zoe was too cold to argue, so she was carried piggyback as they trekked back to the plane.

Meanwhile

The temple itself was quite beautiful, and had a more natural glow to it, with the only light coming from little lights that were on the ceiling. There were also animal carvings, or things that looked like animals, and there was one of a warrior.

The main feature was the sphinx-creature in the center of the room. It looked like a combination of an old man and a lion, in somewhat typical sphinx fashion, with long white hair an equally long beard, and bright completely white eyes. It also had large blue bird-like wings.

Then it spoke, "If you do not seek the Oblivion Stone, turn back now. If the stone I guard is what you desire, step forth. Correctly answer my riddle and claim the power of the stone for yourself."

"Okay." Plagg shrugged, "Let's get this over with. Sooner we're done, sooner I can accept death again and we can get Zoe and Other Jared out of the ice and snow."

"Just so you know," Hana said, "I have practically no education, so I won't know this."

The sphinx didn't seem to react to them talking, but said the riddle once they were silent,

"A box without hinges, key or lid. Yet golden treasure inside is hid."

Quantic Jared brightened. This riddle was from _The Hobbit_! He knew this! He felt like an excited kid.

"The answer is—"

"Eggs." He turned and saw Hana had spoken. Plagg, Kagami and Eden stared at her in utter horror and then terror was on their faces. But then the sphinx spoke,

"Truth."

There was a sealed off door behind the sphinx they hadn't noticed before, which opened to reveal a waterfall with a room behind it.

"Okay then." Eden shrugged, "Come on, let's go." Quantic Jared turned to Hana,

"I was about to answer it. You've read _Hobbit_?" He was a little disappointed he hadn't been able to save the team, but this meant he could have something in common with the least insane person in their group.

Hana raised an eyebrow, "No. Why?"

"Because it was from that." She shrugged,

"Oh, I just guessed. I was reminded of a childhood memory, and I have a knack for flashbacks helping the current situation." Plagg turned,

"Please explain." Hana brightened as she told her story,

"Nobody cared about my opinion when I was a kid—whether with Douglas or my parents before they died. No one cared what I thought. Sometimes people would say 'what do you think you are doing'…" she sighed, "but that just meant stop, they didn't actually want to know my thought process. They did want to be say I was going to put a bottle rocket into that container of eggs, so that when I lit off the bottle rocket the eggs would explode everywhere."

Kagami seemed both parts bemused and impressed, "I'm actually curious what brought you to that." Quantic Jared had to admit he was too.

"Oh well thank you for asking. Well…you know how I'm filled with rage?" She clenched her fists, "I'm so angry all the time, and I have no outlet for it. It's just my head. So…eggs."

Quantic Jared tried to put himself in Hana's shoes, and found that was one of the frustrations of being the only person to have had a normal childhood. Horrific backstory is what brought that gang of misfits together—other than the big bad that was always going after someone. Regina had been after Eli, Zoe, and anyone related to them. Iku was after Psychic Jared and basically everyone else—and he himself was just trying to see if there were survivors in a crashed plane. But while he had had a lovely childhood, he couldn't relate to the others other than Gizmo's science love. He had studied psychology, so he had an idea, but imagining not being listened to at all hurt him; and then there was the enslavement, or the abuse, or the other horrors the others has suffered through.

He was still surprised any of them could smile after what they had been through. Zoe was messed up in the head, so it made sense. And he could tell that Kelly, Joselyn and Eden rarely smiled genuinely. Eli's smiles were strained unless he was with his close friend and family, same applied with a lot of them. Gizmo's smiles were fake as hell, but he and everyone else knew she was new to the whole emotion thing. But he had thought Hana's were real. Apparently not.

When Zoe had said nobody in their family was normal, this wasn't what he had expected.

But as long as Kaylee was kept out of this, and he avoided that freaky illness Kelly had had, he didn't have too many regrets. That was assuming they grabbed this stone and then killed Iku by the end of the week, meaning he could get back to MIT before that important test he had reminded Zoe about at least eight times.

Plagg was clearly apprehensive about this, since he was the one taking the stone's power: deathtouch. It sounded kind of like Cataclysm, so he was perfect for the role—if it weren't for the dozens of warnings about using the stone, absorbing the stone, and burning out being extra painful and could cause suicide or a horrible death.

The stone itself was a little bigger than the other stones they had seen, and was made of Onyx with a faint star-field visible inside. It was beautiful, but he knew it was going to make Plagg's life both parts shorter and harder.

…

Plagg sucked in a breath as he looked at the stone he knew was going to be his doom. He had been around for a very long time, and remembered when the council had placed these stones, and he remembered that Cradh was more particular than the others. It was funny in a way, how he had laughed at the power this was given, how he had been a god. But now, with what he had been reduced to, he knew this power would be too much for him to handle for long.

Was he scared? Yes. But not of death, or what came after it. He wasn't even afraid of the pain he knew came with it—not that he was eager for it in any way—but he was just scared in general. It was moments like this that he longed for the days of sitting in Adrien's room with not a care in the world other than cheese. And maybe he was a little bitter about having been brought back from the dead in the first place, only to be thrown into a world of pain. It was cruel. But he had been given a second chance at life. Might as well not waste it.

Reluctantly, he placed his hand on the stone.

The pain loitered around inside him whilst he helplessly try to shut him out, scratching and aching every bone, crawling around in his stomach and fired spears at his heart. It poked at Plagg's brain and played with his mind. It climbed up his spine, crushing bones with unbearable, unbeatable strength, demanding to be felt. Hundreds of agonizing deaths were being felt at once.

It shot up fast, erasing every thought from his head and paralyzing his body. Apparently he screamed, but he would never recall that part, only the pain. It couldn't have lasted long though, the screaming, because by the time his hand detached from the stone, Plagg's speech could only come out in faltering gasps as he struggled to make his brain listen to the voices of his companions and respond with something appropriate. Eden, the healer, was kneeling by him, saying it would be alright.

He passed out moments after that, and that was a blessing.

…

Eden checked Plagg's pulse once he passed out, "He's stable." She then went into auto-pilot and continued looking him over and even prescribed painkillers. Then she paused at how right it felt to play the role of doctor she had discarded.

Hana grinned, "Want to be a doctor or not, you still have a knack for it." She looked around and the team noticed they were in a different location. It seemed to be Venice, Italy.

"Fuck." Eden looked around, "Zoe and Jared!"

"I think Zoe's smart enough to have started heading back to the jet." Quantic Jared assured, hoping he was right, "So…should we relax or head back to Paris?"

"Well, even if we get a flight," Hana said, "It will take time. Thank god I stole one of Gabriel's wallets. Buckle up, it's time for a vacation!"

OoOoO

Viirus and Blazze were able to get back to the jet in less time than it had taken to get to the cave, and Gizmo opened the door.

Zoe and Jared were not in good shape. Both had passed out either from pain or the cold, and hard frostbite. Both had ice coating various limbs, and the internal fire was the only thing preventing the need for an amputation.

Joselyn gasped, "Jared?! Zoe?! I'll get warm water and washcloths and fresh clothes!" She scampered into the back and came back with the necessarily materials.

Viirus changed Jared, while Blazze changed Zoe, and then started using the warm water to get the ice off. Once the skin was back to normal colors, they wrapped the two in more blankets and put them on the beds in the jet.

Blazze went to the wheel and got the jet flying. Good thing Gizmo had been focusing on keeping the engine from freezing while they were gone.

"What about the others?!" Joselyn asked worriedly. Blazze shrugged,

"We were around when the temples were built. They'll end up in Italy, so we'll meet them back in Paris. but for now, Jared and Zoe need help. And the farther we get from the storm, the sooner Zoe can thaw herself and help Jared.

It was about an hour before Zoe shifted into Heartless, and then woke up a few minutes later completely fine. She changed back and got up, still with a blanket wrapped around her.

"H-How's Jared?" She was still cold, just not dangerously so. Joselyn sighed.

Jared was in so much pain his complexion was ashen, even more so than from the cold since he had continuously gotten paler the closer they got to civilization. His normally tan skin had sunken in tone to something so lifeless it scared her just to look at him. His eyes closed and he had sucked himself into a deeper place in his mind to cope. All she could do was hold his hand. It barely seemed enough, and his skin was icy—literally!

Every few minutes he would scream, not like one of those guys in some movie being tortured, but worse. It had a raw quality, the realness of a person consumed by a pain that knew no end or limit. Then he would go quiet, just panting or shivering or both.

Zoe nodded a little, placing a hand on his forehead, and his skin returned to a normal temperature. Then Jared opened his eyes just a crack, before whimpering and closing his eyes again. It was hard to tell if he was asleep, unconscious, or just closing his eyes.

Freya appeared, "All the stones have been collected. We can defeat Iku now." Viirus looked to the Guardian of Avalon,

"You created the stone he's using. Can you get rid of the migraine?" To the dismay of everyone, she shook her head.

"The migraine itself it brought on by the limit a human can handle, while he's actually hearing the thoughts of everyone and everything within a fifty mile radius. So I can't help him with anything other than the concussion that isn't helping." She placed a hand on his forehead, and a singular streak of his hair turned moonlit white.

"What just happened?" Gizmo asked. Freya shrugged,

"I had to auto-kill him for a second to heal the concussion, since I don't have healing powers and can only heal him with the auto-kill. Didn't help with the migraine, but now it won't actually kill him. All of his hair would be white if it wasn't instantaneous death and revival, so he just had one streak of white as I guess the price of getting the concussion healed."

"Could be worse." Joselyn said, "But we wait to kill Iku until he's better. I don't want him to push himself too much." She froze as Jared's eyes opened again,

"No…we're doing this…we get back to Paris and we're killing her."

"But—"

"No. I will have none of that." He sucked in a breath, before Joselyn grabbed a bucket so he could vomit. Migraines really were the worst, especially with lingering hypothermia, "I'm going to sleep and try to shake this off. When I wake up and meet up with the rest of the team, we are doing this." And then he was asleep from the effort it took to get all of that out.

Joselyn smiled, wrapping the blankets tighter around him, "Sleep well, Jared."

OoOoO

When Jared fell asleep, he was out cold. So Viirus had to carry him into the mansion and set him on the couch. Kelly looked significantly healthier, and Morrigan was there as well. The rest of the team who had been in Italy were there as well.

Eden placed her hand on Psychic Jared's forehead and he woke up,

"Hey Eden…" he was still clearly in pain, "Do you have an Advil? This is killing me." His voice was weak, barely a whisper, and his eyes weren't even open.

"How would you describe your pain?"

"…..It's killing me." his left eye opened a little, since it was a dark room, "I don't know if you remember that part. Are we playing that pyramid game? Um…excruciating…horrific…would rather have shards of glass in my eyes. How do I convey this to you?"

Eden sighed, "How would you rate your pain?"

"Four stars! Two enthusiastic thumbs up." She sat him up and gave him an Advil,

"Don't throw this back up."

Then Kelly ran in, "Jared, get up. Joselyn's gone!"

While all of that was happening

Joselyn had been waiting patiently when Sam arrived, and walked into a room with Kelly. Curious she decided to listen in,

"Kelly, you got my message, right?"

"Yeah." Her Dad said, "The one about Iku."

"More specifically that killing Iku means Joselyn will die! Her soul will vanish forever!" Joselyn gasped, and to her horror, her Dad nodded,

"I remember. That's why I plan to take her place. If I had to choose between my life and hers, I choose hers all the way. Besides, Iku must be destroyed from the inside out, so she will have to fight Iku to the death, without her powers. I'm better suited for that."

Unable to listen to anything else, she ran out of the mansion with tears in her eyes.

She stopped at the park, where there was a full moon. She looked at the moon longingly. She wasn't going to let her Dad sacrifice himself for her if that was even possible. But…it still stung knowing this would be her last night alive.

She wanted to spend this night with Jared or Cam or Gizmo…but she knew she wasn't supposed to know. Her Dad didn't want her to know because he had plans for it to not concern her. But he was more needed than her.

So she turned over in the grass and cried.

Kelly was right about at least one thing: on her own, she was not strong enough to kill Iku. Iku was the source of her power, and she didn't know if she would be able to do it. The fate of the multiverse rested on her incapable shoulders.

"Joselyn?" She sat up and saw Vita staring at her. She scrambled backwards and splashed water on her face to startle Iku into behaving.

"Vita." She greeted coldly. He shrugged,

"I deserve that." He sat down, "So you heard what happens to the person who kills my sister." Joselyn nodded,

"I don't think I'm strong enough to defeat her. I'm not afraid to die, as long as I take her down with me." Vita smiled,

"You're braver than most. I barely had the guts to help the council imprison her. Now I realize what I have to do." He held out his hand, "Come with me, I can help you get stronger. And if we're lucky, I can get her out and then you'll be home free while your friends kill her vessel-less form."

"You'd do that?"

"That's kind of why I created Amhar. I do regret what happened to Eden Imelda. But she will recover in time. But we can finish this battle tonight. Just come with me." He held out his hand, which Joselyn took.

"None of the others will get hurt, right?"

Vita hesitated, "I'll do my best." he narrowed his eyes, "Iku, don't even try."

Meanwhile, Iku was laughing maniacally inside of Joselyn.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: This is going to be a _very_ long chapter. Lots of things to do, places to be, plans to ruin, people to kill. The usual. Remember that you need to review with who you want to have live, and the chances of that character surviving goes up. **

**Chapter 26: The Tragedy **

When Jared heard from Kelly that Joselyn was gone and he explained that Gizmo had seen her go off with Vita, he ignored the hammer pounding into his skull and got up. It was like that adrenaline a parent felt when their child was in danger.

So now, two psychic dads were going off and looking for Joselyn.

"Where would she go?" Jared asked, covering his eyes and downing another Advil so he could focus, "And why?"

"She heard Sam and I talking." Kelly admitted.

"What did you say?"

He hesitated, "Well…whoever kills Iku has to duel her inside their soul. But it doesn't matter who wins, because the possessed's soul will vanish forever and perish. So I was going to take advantage of you having a migraine and force Iku out of Joselyn and into me, so I would be the one to die. But she heard and ran—just to think, sadly, she wasn't bothered by the idea of dying too much—and the Vita offered to help her become strong enough to kill Iku." He held a hand up to put up a shield to stop Jared's punch,

"Joselyn would die, AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?!"

"In my defense, it wasn't supposed to concern you since it wasn't going to be her." Kelly defended calmly, "And I would much rather I die than my daughter. You aren't a father, and from your treatment of Amhar, will never be. So you won't understand."

Jared hesitated at how bitter Kelly sounded. Was the pain in his head making him hear things?

"I may not be her father, but I agree that I would die for her."

"No." Kelly turned, any bitterness gone, "Jared, we're friends, right?"

"Normally I was say yes without hesitation." Jared replied, "Weird friends, but friends I guess. More like positive acquaintance…" He trailed off, "Normally I would say that with no hesitation, but I feel like this is heading somewhere, and I'm not sure I like where." Kelly scoffed,

"Just proves it's better I ask you instead of Amelia or Harry or Mor." He sighed, "If I do have to take Iku, and become her vessel…I'm asking you, as a friend…just…put an end to me. Promise me." Jared froze, seeing the vulnerability in his tone.

"I-I promise."

"Thank you." It was quiet, but grateful, "I hope it goes without saying that you also take care of Joselyn or I haunt you."

"Yeah." Jared put a blanket on his head and laid his seat in a recline position, "I'm going to lay down and try contacting her through the chain. And I would rather not be seeing fucking double when we find her."

"Good. On the bright side, these migraines are worse than a burnout."

But Jared was already diving into the chain searching for Joselyn. She had mental shields up, and Kelly had told him to avoid breaking through usually. Technically mental shields meant about as much as a closed but unlocked door: a sign to stay away, but they could get in if so desired. So he broke through with ease and started looking around, but then came face to face with Iku's true form.

"You're not getting in that easily." She said, and the Jared was filled with pride. Because that thing sent shivers down his spine, and Joselyn had had multiple conversations with her. This was the feeling of a proud father, not that he really knew that.

He was bitter when Iku flung him out of Joselyn's mind, but he did get a general location. He shot up and took steering control from Kelly,

"I know where to go." He just had to hope it wasn't too late to save Joselyn…

…

The castle Vita resided in was a range of mountains with a stone castle at its peak. The surrounding sky was pale blue in color yet the entire area had a dark atmosphere.

Vita was surprisingly kind. He sparred with her, let her bathe, and then they sat down to eat.

Of course, that's when Iku decided to force her way to the surface.

"Quite the wolf in sheep's clothing, aren't you, brother." Vita huffed,

"I have no idea what you're talking about. And it's in your best interest to go back to the tree and shut yourself in."

"Why would I do that?" Iku asked, "Amelia Blackwell freed me in the process of saving her dear friend, and I am never going back to that blasted tree. Besides, this girl is a good vessel—better if she stopped fighting me like no tomorrow, but still."

"My vessel was willing in exchange for me healing his dying son." He looked down, "I haven't had any problems."

"Lucky you." Iku scoffed, "So have you remembered yet?" He looked up from his plate,

"Hm?"

"You know, remembered what you really are? Our true goals? Anything?!" When all she got was a blank stare, as though they hadn't had this conversation countless times before, she clarified, "You and I used to be one, and we wished to bring balance to the Multiverse under our reign." Vita's eyes widened comically,

"Iku, have you completely lost your mind?!"

"Well, yes. Where've you been all night?" He narrowed his eyes,

"You killed innocent people! Give me proof I _ever_ helped you do that!" Iku got up, looking down at the word carved into Joselyn's skin and smirking as her small hands were placed on both sides of his face. His eyes lit up and he shrieked, falling to the ground and clutching his head.

"The dark outweighed the light, so the split left you on the brink of Oblivion. So the council—excluding Cradh—took you in, fed you lies about your past. I never wanted to hurt you, I just needed you to remember." He looked up, and Iku smiled, "Believe me now?"

"I…" he broke down, "I'm sorry I doubted you." Iku bent down and hugged him,

"Shall we join together? You and I in a Worldbender vessel can make the Multiverse pay for what has been done to us."

Joselyn snapped back for a moment, "Vita?" Vita looked up, but his demeanor was quite different,

"Sorry kid. But you're just too useful." And then his vessel fell over as his spirit entered Joselyn's body.

And then Joselyn knew no more.

…

Jared and Kelly couldn't find the stairs for the life of them, so while Jared started climbing the cliff, Kelly sprouted wings and gave Jared some as well. They were simple, almost crystalline—with Jared's being the color of a peridot and Kelly's being the color of a garnet—and Kelly started flying. Jared took a moment to figure it out, but eventually managed to fly slowly.

"Did you do this?"

"No." Kelly looked down at him, "All stone wielders have them, I just used my power to activate yours."

"Can I get rid of them?"

"Possibly." He shrugged, "Don't know all that much about them. But it is faster than climbing."

"True."

They continued to fly, and Jared got the hang of it so they could fly faster. It wasn't long before they landed in front of the castle and walked inside. The wings vanished and Jared started looking around.

"Should we split up?"

"No." Kelly said, "Have you seen any horror movie ever?" Jared smiled,

"Good to know you aren't an idiot. Dining hall?"

"Sounds good."

They walked into the dining hall and found an odd sight. Vita was limp on the ground, and Joselyn's attire had changed. Gone was the tomboy look, with dirty jeans and a plaid shirt. In its place was a black and white gown much like Tenshi's attire, only with inverted colors. She was looking down at the ground with her eyes closed.

"Oh thank god, Joselyn." Jared ran to her, adrenaline and Kelly's magic erasing the migraine pain. He shook her shoulder a little, "Joselyn?" Just because the pain wasn't unbearable didn't mean his processing speed was at the level it usually was. Kelly went to check on Vita,

"Hey, Vita, you okay? I want to kill you myself for what you did to Eden." He opened his eyes, but the ring of silver was gone.

"W-Who are you? Where am I?" Kelly frowned,

"Vita?"

"No, my name is Millard!" Kelly gasped,

"Oh no…"

Joselyn was still looking down when she started floating and reaching her hands out, and it took a moment for Jared to realize they were tight around his throat, and her strength and floating was literally keeping his feet off the ground. He immediately tried fighting back, but to no avail, even when he tried using Totem Armor to break her hold on his throat.

Joselyn was surrounded by dark and light energy, "Who...am I?" Jared gasped for any shred of air he could, feeling the power that didn't belong to the girl he had grown to love,

"Such a terrible..." gasp "darkness..." gasp "Fight it...Joselyn, please!" She stared at him with empty eyes, before letting go and dropping to the ground, and Jared was dropped like a rag doll. He took that time to gain all of his lost air, and Joselyn was clutching her head, before calming with a wicked smirk on her face, her voice changing to something much more sinister,

"Joselyn's soul has been extinguished. Smothered by my power!" This being summoned a massive black blade and brought it down to kill him, only for Kelly to block the blow with his own blade. Jared's brain processed that Kelly saved his life and he got up, summoning his own blade to help. He didn't want to hurt Joselyn, but he would gladly beat Iku out of her.

"LET HER GO!" Kelly roared, and Not-Joselyn laughed,

"She's gone, foolish mage." Another swing of the malicious-looking blade in Not-Joselyn's hand had Kelly jumping back, shielding Jared, "In a nightmare not even you can break through!"

"Trapping her in a nightmare?" Kelly flipped over Not-Joselyn with impressive agility, and knocking his opponent to the ground, "Unlucky for you, I'm what nightmares fear!"

Jared's eyes widened. Normally this wouldn't be his thought process, but he had been worried about this for weeks, and now he was seeing double, so it was reasonable this was his priority. _Oh….dear. Uh oh. Uh oh! Oh shit. Oh no. We've reached the moment. The moment to truth! Oh god, here we go. Alright, what will Kelly do? Will he manage to pull off some bullshit, or completely fuck up. Time to find out._

"Who am I talking to?" Kelly asked coldly, "Iku, Vita, or Kahu?" Jared frowned,

"Kahu?"

"Yeah. Iku and Vita used to be one, a being called Kahu. But the council split this being—which has the male pronoun before you ask—into two, and erased the memories of being one, and made sure they hated each other and had different values. But Iku remembered. So I want to know if they fused or not."

"It is Kahu." Kahu replied, turning to look at Jared, "So, we meet again…the broken experiment is back..." he mused. Jared's eye twitched, the mask on his anger coming undone bit by bit as his eyes changed from pale violet—worry—to red.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He hissed.

Kahu only chuckled "It doesn't matter if you remember or not, you never really had a chance to exist in the first place—"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET JOSELYN GO!" Jared demanded, charging at Kahu. Kahu calmly stepped aside, and easily parried Jared's wrathful blow with his—or her since it was Joselyn— blade. "You really don't know how to fight, do you?" He asked before slashing Jared away.

"Jared!" Kelly cried. He then sighed, looking to his possessed daughter and his basically-apprentice. He then yelled, "TAKE ME!"

The room froze.

"Kelly what are you—?" Jared managed to say before Kelly cut him off "Joselyn's a Worldbender! We can't lose her! I'm just a mage. Harry and Amelia know where the Chamber of Twilight is, so you can get Gizmo or someone to fill in the gap."

He then turned back to Kahu, fiercely determined. Jared gaped as Kelly got onto his knees and held out his wrists to Kahu, showing more vulnerability and there was a tiny bit of fear, and the only thing visible of it was his eyes, which betrayed him even now.

"Take me in her place and do whatever you want with me."

Kahu arched an eyebrow in piqued interest "Really?"

Kelly nodded, "Just give Joselyn back to Jared, and you can take me... You can take me as your vessel."

"No! Take me instead!" Jared insisted, and Kahu looked between the two of them, grinning like mad.

"Two mind mages offering themselves up…one with Totem Armor and power over the worldsoul, and one with more experience and reality warping powers." He looked between the two once more, "As tempting as it is, you Mr. Brock have damaged your soul too much to be useful to me."

"That's kind of your fault."

"I won't try to deny that." He looked to Kelly, "Agreed." Kahu let off a glow from Joselyn's body, and she collapsed to the ground as the glow transferred to Kelly.

Joselyn shrieked once she regained awareness, "No! Please no!" Jared had to hold her back.

Kelly took a deep breath and smiled "It's okay, it's gonna be fine—" he screamed as the glow turned red, "Run…RUN!"

Jared grabbed a screaming Joselyn and sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him. The only place to go was out the window, which could risk them plummeting to their deaths if he didn't get the wings right.

Fortunately, the wings appeared and he flew out the window just as the tower with the dining hall exploded. Unfortunately, one of the large stones him him square on the back, making the wings vanish and they started to fall.

Jared's mind immediately went into protective parent mode and wrapped a forcefield around Joselyn.

However, he felt a jolt of icy cold and didn't remember hitting the ground.

An hour later

The kwamis were all in their Fae form, sitting in a circle—or Viirus was leaning against the wall in the corner.

"They've been gone too long." Daizzi mused. Mullo nodded in agreement,

"Yeah. What do you guys think?"

Sass looked around to the other kwamis, "I agree. Shall we go look? There is one enemy and twenty-one of us." Viirus shrugged,

"I don't think this is a great idea. I trust Jared. This is practically screaming that it's a trap. And you know I can beat you all, so you can't make me."

"What about Jared?" Ziggy asked, "Don't you care about him?"

"Of course I do, idiot." Viirus snapped, "But what help will we be to him if all nineteen—excluding Catra because she's not even three—of the Fae powerhouses wind up killed or worse."

"I'm with Viirus on this one." Ariana replied, "Besides, Crow is a little busy." Jaay nodded.

"There is no way this isn't a trap. But…numbers I guess?"

"You are all going to get yourselves killed." Viirus said, grabbing Blazze, "You're seriously going with this?!"

"Well yeah." Blazze said, "If there's even a chance of getting them back faster, I'll take it. Kelly and Jared are two crucial pieces in defeating Iku. You know that. So if you want to stay, fine. But I'm going."

"Fine. Good luck."

So the others left, except Ariana, who stayed with Viirus,

"Normally I would go, but you're right about the trap, and I have a kingdom to run." Viirus looked up,

"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be in Carthis? You left here to go back after getting stabbed, and I know you got coronated as the official monarch."

"Yeah. But then I get word of Joselyn vanishing and I couldn't help but check it out."

"Fair enough." He frowned, "While i know it's stupid to follow, do you know anyone who would report how Jared's doing?"

"Someone else who could look for Jared and not get caught?" He nodded and she smiled, "Bernie!" Her ever faithful baby shadow monster of a servant appeared,

"Yes?"

"Please go follow the others and make sure they don't get killed."

"Yes, my Queen!" Then Bernie was gone.

Ariana turned, "I give it an hour before they're all caught in a trap."

"I give it a half hour."

OoOoO

The kwami rescue team traveled to the castle in a group, splitting up into groups of three to cover more ground. Tikki was walking with Kaalki and Roari when she saw something or someone out of the corner of her eyes.

"Don't wait for me, guys. I think I saw someone and I don't want to scare them." She ran down the hall and was shocked to see Kelly. He was alone, dirty, and bloody. He saw her and brightened,

"Tikki!" He hugged her, "Oh thank god…Jared and Joselyn…they're in danger!" Tikki held his hand,

"Kelly, take me to them. It's gonna be okay. Do you know where Vita is?"

"H-He got Iku out of Joselyn, and merged her. He's somewhere in the castle!" Kelly's voice was shaking, and he turned away and Tikki.

"Kels, can you tell me where they are?"

"I can take you there!" Kelly said, "Come on! Hurry!" Tikki turned back,

"What about the others?"

"We don't have time! And Iku will hear twenty some people coming." She hesitated,

"How did you know we all came?" To her relief, his response was instant and his blue eyes showed no worry,

"I saw you guys come in as a group. You saw me right as I was about to grab you." No lie visible. He took her hand, "We don't have time for pleasantries!" They started briskly walking so as to not catch any unwanted attention.

It was about five minutes of walking down stairs that had Tikki nervous, "Are you sure this is the right way? It seems like it's taking awhile."

"You're just imagining things." Kelly assured, "It's really not much farther to go. The others are waiting, and I don't think they want to see their rescuer so upset, don't you think?"

"You're absolutely sure this is the way?" She asked as they came up to a red door, "And how did you escape?"

"The lock was faulty, but Joselyn isn't doing well from being separated from Iku, so Jared stayed with her since he's still seeing double from the migraine." He turned, "If you're so unsure, would you prefer to go back?" There was a hint of hurt in his tone. Tikki sighed,

"You're right, we need to be in and out." Kelly's smile returned,

"That's what I thought you would say." He opened the door and they were in a lobby of the sort with an elevator at the end.

"Where are we?" She asked, and Kelly smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You and the others have been through a lot, huh. You and Plagg, side by side, soldering on. And you did your best to keep all of your siblings unified. Holding them together. You have done more for your family than you will ever know." His behavior was…odd…she thought he'd be more worried about Joselyn.

"Kelly…?"

Kelly's smile turned malicious, "So of course…you were the obvious choice." He then grabbed her and shoved her into the elevator, only to reveal the lobby they had been in was the elevator, and she saw him smile insanely with golden glowing irises as he vanished.

She sat in darkness for a moment, beyond confused, before a screen lit up and started playing a likely pre-recorded message. Kelly's eyes were gold, and was wearing a black robe.

"Now, you may ask yourself why I would do this to you. It's not as complicated as you may think." He said, "To put it simply, this isn't Kelly."

Tikki frowned, "I don't understand. Kahu?"

"Ding ding ding!" Okay…either he had predicted that, or this wasn't pre-recorded, "As to why I'm doing this, I'm working on a video of the sort to get your siblings to drop their mental guards for even a nanosecond, and while within Joselyn, I found from the stories Gabriel and Zoe would tell, that negative emotion was just the way to do it! So I pondered for a bit and then I thought of you and a lightbulb went off!"

Tikki paled. She did _not_ like the sound of that.

…

"Stay alert you guys," Stompp ordered, "We'll be fine. We're here as a group." The team had met up in the dining hall and decided to all go down to the dungeon together. Pollen had venom at the ready, and Wayzz had shields prepared.

"I'm worried about Tikki," Nooroo said nervously, "she's all alone."

"Wait up guys, you're going too fast!" They all turned and Jaay ran in the direction of that voice,

"Kelly!" He looked his long-time friend over, "Are you hurt?"

"N-No…"

"Hang on," Trixx looked around, "what the hell happened to Tikki? Was she with you?"

"She twisted her ankle," Kelly said, "so she went into a spare room to rest until she could put weight on it again. She'll catch up with us soon enough. None of us are healers, so she didn't want to hinder us." Everyone relaxed, and Xuppu punched the air,

"Yeah!" He cheered, "All we gotta do now is find Jared and Joselyn!" Kelly brightened,

"I think it's just beyond this door." He gestured to a bright red door, opening it, "After you guys." None of them noticed until it was too late that Kelly slammed the door behind all of them and the door turned into a normal wall.

The room itself was large and octagon shaped, let rather plain. The most notable features were the massive screams on all eight walls.

"No sign of either." Orikko said.

"Is this really where we're supposed to be?" Duusu asked, crying in fright.

Barkk paled, "Viirus was right. It's a trap…" At that moment, all the screens turned on and Kelly appeared on all of them, but his darker attire and golden eyes alerted all of them that they had just made it easy on Kahu.

"Heya kiddos! Is everybody in?" He looked over them, "Sweet! Let's get started!"

"What's going on?!" Wayzz demanded, "What have you done to Tikki?! Where are Jared and Joselyn?!" They then froze when they saw Tikki on the screen as well, looking terrified.

"Every disaster needs to heart stopping first act!" Kahu grinned, "Are you ready? 'Cause I am!"

And then the torture began.

…

Tikki was walking through the labyrinth when the many small screens that were scattered about turned up in volume so Kahu's taunts were even louder. A blade had already cut deep through her left arm, but otherwise she had managed to get past a lot of the traps.

"Okay! She's already reached the halfway point of my death dungeon! How many more traps can the Goddess of Creation avoid? But here's where things get tricky! Eye on the prize!" She stumbled and pressed a floor panel by accident, and stumbling some more led to her stepping on a place that led to an ashwood spike rising up from the floor and going all the way through her foot.

She screamed and looked down at the blood staining her shoe. If hurt horribly, buy adrenaline made it a little better, "I can make it…I can make it…I have to!" She started limping down the hall and then two cannon balls flew at it, one hitting her arm and then other hitting her eye.

She couldn't see out of her right eye anymore, and she wept, "Not like this…"

Tikki continued to walk, and then heard a giant boulder start rolling down the hall, ready to crush her. She slipped into another hallway so she wouldn't be killed, "Nice try, but you won't beat me that easily. Me and the others are gonna kick your butt!"

"Oh yes, there's the hope I want to crush." Kahu clapped gleefully, "More of that please. When it's gone, you'll have absolutely nothing. Hop to, get them legs moving!" Tikki glared and started walking as he continued talking, "The sooner you perish horribly, the sooner I can get the start of my plan in motion. No, you aren't even a part of the real plan, just something I added at the last second, so don't feel any honor."

"Wasn't planning on it." She snapped under her breath.

Kahu then gasped as though he made a mistake, "Oh my god, silly me. I mean…good luck."

…

Jaay watched the screen in horror, "We have to find her and get her out of there!"

"Yes, of course," Wayzz agreed, "but where is she?!

"How are we supposed to know?!" Ziggy asked.

"Just start looking!" Blazze snapped.

"This is messed up!" Duusu stared bawling.

Pollen gasped, "Wait a second, we said we were gonna save Jared and Joselyn. What if they're going through this too!?"

"Good lead, horrific concept," Sass said, "but there's just one problem."

"My body…" Xuppu panicked, followed by Daizzi,

"I can't move!"

"Is the video doing this to us?" Trixx asked. Fluff tried to close her eyes,

"I can't use my powers!"

Nooroo tried to turn to the others, but couldn't. So he explained,

"The reason we can't move and are stuck here watching is due to the psychological function of the brain, which is tied to the fight or flight mechanism of our mind. It's the same reason why during gross things we sometimes keep watching, or even when we cover our eyes we still take a peek. Another reason is because Tikki is someone important to us, which means we can't stop watching because our focus is on her as we can't stop thinking about what's happening to her or our minds would be stuck wondering what would happen to her while we look away. If you add that to the subliminal messaging I can feel radiating off this video, that just amplifies the effect even more."

"Damnit." Blazze cursed, "Viirus is never going to let me live this down. Try to break free, guys! We need to find Tikki and the others!"

…

Tikki yelped as a spear launched at her and got caught on her hood, pinning her to the wall. She let the fabric tear and winced as her ruined foot touched the ground, "I don't care what you do to me, I'm not…giving up!"

Kahu smiled through the screens, "As a reward for that unbreakable spirit, it's 'take your chance' time! Chin up, baby doll, I'm told the power of friendship can work miracles. I'll give you a ten second head start." He started counting on his fingers, "Ten…nine…eight…" She then realized he was serious and got moving as fast as possible, "seven…six…"

"AHHH!"

"Crap." Kahu pouted, "Looks like my counting is off. What can you do?" Tikki looked down at the harpoon that had cracked her femur after going into her thigh. The rope was severed, so it wasn't going to be pulled back. It fell out after a second as Kahu continued to talk, "Miracles are so cliché. Your friends and family are not coming to rescue you. They are going to watch you die though. So sad. No 'Hail Mary' for you, highness."

…

All of the kwamis were crying as they watched their eldest sister going through hell.

"No….Tikki…"

"Tikki!"

Duusu was sobbing, "I don't wanna watch this!"

"Please, make it stop!" Roari pleaded. And they were all relieved Plagg was no longer like them, so he wouldn't see Tikki like this. That would be even more painful for him than it was for them.

…

Tikki had managed to literally dodge a bullet, but she knew she was loosing too much blood, and the Ashwood poison was setting into her foot and draining her magic even more than the Faebane that laced the walls. She had to hurry, or Kahu would win.

"Tikki Dupain-Cheng." Kahu mused aloud, "Trusted. Beloved. Still can't believe you settled on a normal life once Marjii was defeated. Regardless, your untimely demise will scar your friends for life!"

"I'll make it…" She retaliated, "I won't lose…we won't lose…NOT TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" She placed her hand on one of the screens to steady herself, smearing her blood onto it in the process, "They'll come for me. I know from the bottom of my heart that they will come for me! This is not how I die!"

She continued walking and when she saw a door, with the word 'GOAL' on it. She hurried to the door. Kahu always had an exit to the game all those years ago, so he didn't seem to have changed.

"Told you…" At the end of the door, she saw the room with her siblings in it. Fluff brightened when she saw her,

"Tikki!"

Tikki wanted to break down in tears when she saw them, and limped to her closest sibling, only for a spear to fly down from the wall and go straight through her chest. She gasped in pain and fell backwards…for the Spears of Gungnir to shoot out of the floor and there was no part of her torso unscathed by them

The others stood there, stunned and horrified. Their eyes started changing to pure white and they were shaking.

Kahu appeared on only one screen this time, "Congratulations! Welcome to the fold! Doesn't losing someone you love break your heart? Thank you for watching. I look forward to working with you."

However, the spears didn't kill Tikki immediately. So she saw the moment her beloved siblings were shocked enough by her death that Kahu was able to worm his way into their heads and brainwash them, "Guys…no…"

OoOoO

Viirus and Ariana were chilling together, neither bothering the other, and waiting for Bernie to return.

When Bernie returned, she was frantic and crying. Ariana turned,

"Bernie?" Bernie ran into her arms like a child would run to their mother,

"M-My Queen! It was horrible!" She was crying, and looked more like a small kid than a shadow monster, "K-Kahu got Kelly as a vessel and he trick them! T-They all watched T-Tikki get tortured in a death dungeon, and then she was murdered in front of them! They were all brainwashed!" Viirus froze at those words,

"Anything on Jared and Joselyn?" Bernie shook her head,

"N-No…they weren't even brought up by Kahu…b-but the others were thinking that maybe they were put through that death dungeon Tikki was!" Ariana gasped quietly,

"Did you record Tikki's death?"

"J-Just bits and pieces so the brainwashing didn't happen to you…"

"Show it to me." Viirus ordered, and Bernie obeyed. And even the idea of Jared having to go through that made his blood run cold, especially since Jared was bigger than Tikki, so dodging would be very difficult. It also bothered him how unnatural her murder was.

And now he was pissed and started forming a plan to avenge Tikki and find Jared.

"Viirus…" Ariana hesitated, "I know you're angry, but Kahu is powerful—and our Kahu is still basically a baby compared to other timelines!" At his odd look, she clarified, "This timeline is younger than others, so this version of Kahu is still a child by comparison since he came into existence alongside Tikki and Plagg. However, while this version is younger and therefore less experienced, he also has Kelly's very experienced memories and raw strength. Especially since Kelly has faced Iku before."

"When?"

"Different timeline, but our version of Kelly and Harrison have the magic tablet. So he spent hours looking over that. Which comes to our disadvantage here since Kahu can learn more from Kelly's memories what he can and cannot do to ensure victory."

"How do you even know that?" He couldn't help but ask that. Ariana shrugged,

"Money. We were talking earlier about how I am a literal monarch. Money can buy you everything, especially information. We just have to hope that Kelly can keep Kahu out of the important memories." She got up and brushed down her grey sweater, "Now if you excuse me, I have war to prepare my kingdom for. Best of luck." Then she vanished, leaving Viirus alone.

"If you're looking for Jared, don't waste your breath if you want to find him alive." Viirus turned to see Kahu standing there calmly. His grip tightened on the blade, looking at the god in Kelly's body.

"Why did you kill Tikki? Spite?" Viirus asked, "Some show of power? Because that death was just unnatural." Kahu shrugged,

"I actually did it so I could catch the others off guard just enough that I worm my way into their heads. I came here to see why you didn't show up, and Ms. Caelum revealed some very interesting info about my vessel." Shit. "So now I'm glad you didn't!" He got up from where he was leaning, "Anyway, Jared and Joselyn, you must wonder." Viirus made sure all mental wards were at their strongest, just in case, and let no emotion be seen.

Because Kelly was 6'4, he was much shorter than Viirus, so he had to float up so they could make eye contact, "Joselyn, I have no idea. Last time I saw her was when she was falling and I destroyed her planeswalker spark to make sure it couldn't ignite and make things harder for me."

"That's not even possible!" Kahu summoned Kelly's blade, which showed the power of reality warping.

"Isn't it? Don't worry, since the spark isn't something one can destroy under pretty much any circumstance except this one, it will probably come back. But it certainly will make my life easier not having it around for a time. For all I know, I destroyed it on her cold dead body. Or maybe I just buried it in a deep corner of her being. I honestly don't know, all I know is I did _something _to it that didn't ignite it. And as tempting as it is, I wouldn't dare take it for myself lest Cradh get involved." He shrugged, "I'm not an idiot."

"You sure about that?" He asked, "How did you even manage to brainwash twenty people at once?!" Kahu grinned,

"Finally! I can brag! Well, the reason why the conversion was very strong here is because once the effect of watching someone close to them get tortured and killed ends, they end up going through all the states of depression, thinking they could have done something, blaming themselves for why they didn't do anything, when in fact it's their own brains that prevented them from doing so. And it was because of that vulnerability for even a nanosecond that I, with the help of Kelly's powers, was able to wire their minds to serve me." The longer he talked, his tone was showing Viirus that Kahu was younger than expected for a being that had been around since the beginning of this timeline—so at _least_ a billion years on its own.

Kahu cleared his throat, "Anyway, we were talking about Jared. I don't know where Joselyn is, but I do know where he is! He's dead." Viirus growled,

"And why should I believe a word you say? The only reason I believe you about the brainwashing is because you have no reason to lie about it." Kahu shrugged,

"I suspected you would say that." He snapped his fingers and Viirus found himself at the bottom a cliff. The castle that used to belong to Vita was at the top, and there was a crumbled tower down at the bottom, next to a river.

That was when he saw Jared mostly buried under the rocks.

He ran to Jared and started getting the rocks off, and managed to get them all off except for the ones around his left ankle, which were so buried that moving the foot could cause a landslide. But for now, he had to make sure Jared was even alive.

Jared lay in the light of the sunset, utterly still, eyes open as if admiring the heavens. As Viirus's footfalls approach, crunching the gravel, he remained still and a cursory glance was enough to know he was dead. His lips were blue, skin grey, eyes dull with exploded pupils. He was as lifeless as the fall leaves around him.

He bent down beside Jared and checked for any sign of life. No pulse. No breath. Looking at him, he had been dead for a while.

Jared was a dear friend, so of course this upset him. But he wasn't going to let it show. Kahu would gain satisfaction at that. But he couldn't keep it out of his body language that, if he believed he could win, he would go full savage on him and—Kelly or even Joselyn—rip his throat out. But again, he was a little preoccupied keeping Kahu out of his head.

"What?" That tone…maybe it was because Jared's killer was right behind him and he _couldn't do anything_, but it just got under his skin, "I thought Jared was like your best friend. Wonder how he would feel if he knew you didn't care at all that he was dead?"

"You're a monster…" Viirus turned, making it very clear in his body language the true rage he felt, "what you've done to Jared is unforgivable." He closed Jared's eyes and stood up, "But this isn't a fight I could win. I can't avenge my friend by ending up one of your pawns."

"Oh Viirus," Kahu taunted, "You lost the moment you saw Jared's corpse. Remember when I said _nano_second? That is one billionth of a second. Your reaction alone was enough for me to get in your head. I'll admit you are more of a challenge than the others, since I can't quite show you how Jared died since I myself wasn't there. He was just…collateral damage. That's all the great Jared Brock ended up being." Viirus froze and Kahu smirked,

"You feel it now. That, no matter how strong your mental wards are, I can still get in. Kelly doesn't give himself enough credit. Thirty years of practice 'controlling it', as he thought, had made him one of the greatest mind mages in this timeline, even giving Jace Beleren a run for his money if he put his mind to it. Even _I_ would be scared if he was turned to evil of his own will. However, he settled down and had kids, so he never realized his full potential. I noticed immediately and added my own powers in, making it even stronger. So do you really think I couldn't get in?"

Viirus fell to his knees, still trying to keep Kahu out of his head. It didn't take long for him to realize there wasn't anything he could do. But still, he fought. He wasn't going to let Jared's killer win.

"Still fighting?" Kahu asked, "Normally one would give up by now. But not you."

"You murdered my friend." Viirus snapped, "So of course I will do everything I can so you can't force my body to do your bidding."

"Well," Kahu giggled, "Guess I really do have to do this the hard way." Then Viirus fell limp on the ground, "I was hoping for simple brainwashing. Guess I'll have to keep an eye on you." He looked to the mirror, "You know Kelly, you really don't give yourself enough credit. Or do you do that on purpose?"

In the mirror was the true Kelly Carpenter, who glared,

"Maybe I was stronger than I let on. But this is wrong. Viirus is strong, and if he realizes you used my powers to cover up Jared's real cause of death—"

"That's why I'm locking up his memories." Kahu replied, "Does everyone think I'm stupid? I might not make the smartest choices, but you know as well as I do that the council is bickering about what to do about me right now, and Freya won't even remember she auto-killed Jared until the three-day limit is up and he's really gone. So not that it really matters in the long run. But I can still feel him fighting more than the others, so I'd rather be safe." He looked at his hands as he worked,

"So tell me, Kelly. Why did you offer yourself up? Joselyn's real powers are still nothing compared to what you can do since she has never used them. Seriously though, Cradh, Jace, and Bolas are the only three off the top of my head who you couldn't beat single-handedly if you wanted. So why give it to the 'bad guy'?"

"Because I knew Jared would offer himself up for Joselyn." Kelly answered, "That's the main reason. If it had somehow been Gabriel, I wouldn't have said anything. Even if it was Harrison or Amelia—as much as that would pain me—but because Jared has connection to the worldsoul, I knew there was no chance I could risk that. What's some memories and powers compared to what could be true omnipotence."

"Damnit." Kahu cursed, "I picked the wrong one and now Jared's dead!" Kelly laughed at that,

"And since I'm as powerful as you say, I know exactly how to beat you and a tiny nudge from a powerful person could let me take control so I can explain. And _then_ I can beat the shit out of you."

Kahu turned to the mirror, "You don't seem very upset about Jared being dead and Joselyn's fate being unknown."

"Trust me." And then Kelly's face shifted to what was the literal definition of nightmare fuel for a second, with glowing red eyes, "I am _very_ upset." Then he went back to normal. "But I guess not being in my actual body makes it easier to hide."

"You're gonna do everything you possibly can to make this suck, aren't you."

"Yeah. A couple hundred nightmare worthy faces coming right up!" Kahu tore at his hair,

"Worst. Magic mirror. _Ever_."

OoOoO

Joselyn woke up and found herself floating on a log in a river. She shrieked and jumped from the log and made it to shore. Her clothes were drenched, she was cold, and bloody. How did she get here? Where was here?

She cut through her jeans on a sharp rock and red blood spilled out. Wait…red blood? There wasn't a trace of black blood that would mean Iku…

She gasped as she remembered everything from meeting Vita, to something happening to make him shift, to seeing her Dad taking her place, and then jumping out a window and—

_Jared!_

"Jared!" She called out, "Can you hear me?" No answer.

In the ten minutes of walking, her imagination was running wild with horrible outcomes that could have come.

Eventually, she saw Jared laying by the river. He wasn't crushed by the debris, so that was good.

"Oh thank goodness, Jared." She ran over to him, "You're safe!" Then she stopped in her tracks when she saw the completely white hair.

Now, she had been in a tree when the auto-kill was truly explained by Kelly—a brief mention by Freya when curing a concussion was not enough for her to understand. So she had no idea what to make of this. So she went through the stories Zoe had told her and the "Frozen Incident" came up as close enough. Meaning she immediately ran to find wood to make a fire and get him warm.

When she got the fire going, she realized she couldn't do anything else since she had no powers anymore.

She decided to check his pulse, and gasped when she realized she was stupid and hadn't checked to begin with and now there was nothing.

Because she was so small by comparison to him—even though she was already taller than both of her sisters had been at her age—it was difficult to perform CPR. Maybe that was why is wasn't working…

"Come on…" Eventually she lost hope on doing it properly and started punching his chest, trying to get a response, "You can't be dead! You can't be!" The tears were spilling over, and she tried rescue breaths. Nothing.

She looked, and her phone was very dead from being in the river, so she couldn't call anyone for help.

Another few minutes passed and she realized that there was nothing she could do. He was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Out of habit, she got up and started punching the cliff face, letting the rocks cut into her knuckles and watched them bleed.

"Why did I agree to go with him?!" She cursed herself, "I'm not strong enough to beat Iku…but I should have risked it…Jared would still be alive…" She turned and looked to Jared again, washing her cut up hands,

"Why did you follow me? You should have just killed me." Her tears now came from anger at both herself and him, "What about Cam? What about Kagami? You have so many people who love you, Jared. Why did you throw that away to come after a dead girl?"

_Anything can happen if you let it._

Zoe had told her that once, and if she was right, then maybe she could let a miracle happen.

An hour passed with her wishing for Jared to come back, and she felt stupid.

She knew she had to bury him, or give him as close to a Blight funeral as she could. But for tonight, she would sit vigil.

Joselyn didn't know what she would do now. She was powerless, with only the skills she had absorbed from the soul eating and things Jared and her Dad had taught her—and not the magical ones to her knowledge, just stuff like riding a motorcycle or cooking in the wilderness.

She saw the lights coming from the castle far above, and clenched her fists.

"Iku…you may have knocked me down…but this is my mess. And I _will_ clean it up. I won't let you get away with this."

OoOoO

Kahu stood in the throne room of the castle with his brainwashed soldiers sitting in desks much like a classroom. They were chatting amongst themselves as though they hadn't seen their older sister die. But all Kahu did was change their morals and values, so their basic personality was still intact. Well…Duusu was even more fucked up—having already been with the damaged Miraculous—and Viirus was silently standing beside Kahu as a bodyguard almost. It was actually because he wanted to make sure the real Viirus didn't break free for even a second.

"We've been so blessed!" Pollen announced, "I'm go grateful to have joined this cause!"

Sass stood up, "I'm gonna get out some music!"

"Good luck with that." Ziggy cheered, "I'll make the multiverse a better place with dance."

Xuppu joined in, "I'll teach everyone how to have fun again!"

"I'll bring an end to war and bloodshed!" Blazze announced, also standing beside their leader. Note that what they were saying about good was not what they were doing—actually, they planned to do the opposite, but by the same means. They just thought they were doing good.

Jaay pulled out a camera, "I'll document it!"

Wayzz pulled out the kwamis transformation potions, since he was more or less the chemist of the group since Marinette had let him learn the recipes after Master Fu was brutally killed by Kelly, "I have so many potions and medicines that could help us achieve our goals!"

Nooroo bowed, "I will use my transmission powers to assist those in need!"

Roari stood on her desk, "Large scale environmental reforms for me!"

"I can become whoever I want to with my illusions." Trixx said, "I could even be a king or a president!"

Duusu was still sitting down and was panting, "And I'm just gonna fuck everyone on the planet!"

"Goddamnit Duusu!" Everyone said, "You ruined the moment!" Yeah, Duusu had been more than a little extra fucked up, since _that_ had not been the intent at all.

"Everything is a virus." Fluff mused, "Fashion trends, taste in movie, social media hashtags…they live and spread and die just like a virus."

"But our influence will live on forever!" Barkk replied, "Because we'll make sure of it."

"Well then, best of luck to you." Kahu said calmly, "Remember our meeting place. Now go…and kill the stone wielders and their friends." As most of them left, he turned to Viirus and Blazze, "They say blood is thicker than water. But that sounds like a tip for keeping my knife clean." He stood up, "Well…off to the Quantic world I go. Have a schedule to keep." He grinned maliciously to the two, "Don't want to be late."

He started walking, and starting talking and started breaking the fourth wall,

"Fair warning: if you want a happy ending, you better look elsewhere. Just because good is the central character, doesn't mean it will make it to the final act. Sorry kids, reality doesn't care one way or the other. To win, I don't have to work that hard."

OoOoO

"They left?!" Plagg was pacing nervously. Hana and Kagami were playing chess to distract themselves while Chloe watched to learn how to play. Quantic Jared was just panicking.

"What could have happened?" Even Zoe was worried. The kids didn't understand what had all the adults so worried, and Felix was making sure it stayed that way. Eli was trying to comfort his beloved, while Camille, Amelia, Harrison, and Gizmo were all on the brink of a panic attack. Emilie at least had a mask to hide her fear for her husband and stepdaughter's life.

Then the door flew open and Kelly walked in,

"Kels!" "Kelly! "Dad!" Everyone got up, and Kagami was the first to him.

"Where's Jared?!"

"Oh." Kelly shook her off, "Him." He turned to face the window, "He's dead." Kagami froze,

"W-What? What happened?!" Sam pulled her back forcefully,

"That's not Kelly!" Harrison took one look at the person who looked like Kelly, and upon deeper inspection of his posture, he, Amelia and Zoe came to the same conclusion.

"Who are you?" Connor demanded, two flames in his hands. Not-Kelly turned, revealing golden eyes much like Zoe's as Heartless, only different at the same time.

"I won't bother explaining. But I am Kahu. Joselyn's fate is unknown, but I know for a fact that the Jared Brock with the power over the mind dead." Kagami roared and the wind picked up as she ran at him, but Kahu simply held up a hand, and Blazze appeared to block the blow with her sword,

"Blazze?!" Zoe and Eden transformed, but Kahu wasn't bothered at all.

"You shouldn't be worrying about me." He said, "You can't even hurt me without hurting your dear father. If I were you, I'd be worrying about the mutual killing outside."

Heartless turned to Eli as she looked out the winder, "Love, get the kids out of here. And by out of here, I mean off this world." Eli nodded and summoned Goldryn, running to the kids who would be found in the playroom.

Gabriel looked out a window and immediately locked down the mansion. For outside was the city of Paris, all killing each other. It was a bloodbath. Adrien, Alya, Nino, Chloe and Marinette recognized a couple students in their class, slaughtering each other.

"What did you do…" Adrien exhaled, too horrified to speak. Kahu had a wicked grin,

"You should stop looking. The more of you that look, the more of you are under my spell. However, not many of you are of use to me, so I have no need to 'fix' you. But this is a way of ensuring my own safety." He looked out the window himself, "Why do mortals hate lies so much? There's only one truth, but endless possibilities for lies, you know? And some of them are only white lies, or lies to be kind to people... If you deny all of that _just_ because it's a lie... Then that means you guys are just terrible at being lied to! Seriously, the worst!"

"You pulled a Jack Kline in the season fourteen finale?" Zoe asked, looking ready to puke since she couldn't look away. Kahu shrugged,

"Well yeah. Except I not only removed the ability to lie, but also made sure everyone revealed their lies. The shields around this mansion is what protected you. I did not think the Bourgeois family could have lied about so much. Eventually, add a little bloodlust into everyone's head and you have yourself a mutual killing."

"W-Why…" Quantic Jared panicked, and threw up on the ground as he saw some guy disembowl another guy.

"Well, I have one of my soldiers recording everything. Spread that around the multiverse and civilizations will crumble. There really is a thin veil. Once upon a time, I just wanted balance. Not I want to destroy most and rule the rest. But I think Jaay has recorded enough.

Amelia's attention was brought from the window at the mention of her Fae friend, "Jaay is with you?!"

"Brainwashed, but yes." Kahu turned, "I should thank you Amelia. For if you hadn't placed Kelly into the Chamber of Waking. My dark half, the being you know as Iku, would have never been free."

Then he snapped his fingers, and the world they were standing on, as well as at least eight others, blew up.

The Lanes Between were less dangerous than the Blind Eternities, so Zoe was still awake when she saw all of her friends and family get thrown in different directions.

"ELI! KIDS!" She reached out for Eli, who reached for her as he was launched away. Felix shielded as many kids as he could under his wings—which were visible now, and looked like black versions of the stereotypical angel wings—as he too was flung away.

Kahu floated over to Zoe, preventing her from being flung away. He also had Gizmo, Sam, and Camille bound.

"Hello, Chainbreaker." Kahu said, "You, like these three, have use to me."

They then landed in the dungeon of a castle Zoe had only seen once before. Or rather, Gizmo was in the dungeon with Camille, while Zoe herself and Sam were in a tower prison with plain stone walls.

"Where are we? Sam?" Sam rubbed his head,

"One of the last Blackwell witches, an Analytical Prowess, an archmage, and a Worldbender. I fear for us."

"S-Sam…" Zoe looked at her wrist, which hurt like hell, and she saw a cuff on it which held an amber gemstone. Sam turned from the window and his eyes widened. He had one too, but it looked less menacing.

"Do you feel like there are spikes in your wrist?" He asked, and Zoe nodded,

"I-It really hurts…" He nodded,

"It's a Phoenix eye." His tone was grim, "It drains anyone who wears it. But since you are a Worldbender and I'm just an archmage, yours has spikes that have magic-draining venom."

"So my powers are useless?" He nodded. Zoe started pacing, "Oh god…we don't even know who is alive. What if one of them ended up in the Blind Eternities?! Eli's indestructible and who knows what could happen still." She started hyperventilating, and Sam held her. And for a moment, they both flashed to their childhood. It was pretty much always like this, with her crying and him comforting her and cleaning a new injury.

The door opened and Stompp came in, grabbing Zoe forcefully and dragging her into the throne room as she struggled and cursed. She ended up chained to the wall.

Kahu looked her over, "Such a beautiful girl. Shame what I'll have to do."

"Have to do?" She sneered, "I don't care what you do to me."

"I know." Kahu looked to the brainwashed Blazze, "And I know from Blazze that your will is too strong to brainwash completely. And your dear Dad would reject it and fight and that could cause any sort of issue. So instead I will give you a choice: submit to me, or become the thing that makes your father break completely. No, there isn't a third option." Zoe was silent, glaring still, and he shrugged, "I'll let my friends have fun with you until you decide." He turned to the kwamis, taking Viirus with him but leaving Blazze, "Have fun with her, so what you want. But she must live."

Kahu then walked to another tower—there were three, formerly four—and went to the scrying pool, then broke the fourth wall once again,

"Yup, no happy ending here, boys and girls. You're wondering if it has to be this way, which is a good question. For me and the deranged souls who now worship me, this is a happy ending of sorts. Maybe that's the secret. No matter how the story ends, it's all a matter of perspective."

**A/N: Yup. Chapter of ten thousand words, and I end it like that. No, I am not ending the story here, that would be unnecessarily cruel. But let's call this the "Bad End" of the Worldbender series. And Kahu is a villain who will break the fourth wall from time to time, but not often. I can already hear Tikki fans banging on my door. But I had something worse planned for her, so be grateful.**

**The chapters are going to be much longer for a while, so it will take me longer. There are so so many characters and I have to get through them all. Tell me who you want to see next chapter. Zoe will not be seen for a while.**

**Also, one of you suggested the song "Bedroom down the hall" from _Dear Evan Hansen_ for Kelly and Jared on their respective struggles as a parent. Are you trying to make yourselves suffer? And now that might become a one-shot.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I have 41 characters to get through. This is gonna take a while. There is no way I can do them all in one chapter.**

**Chapter 27: Separation**

Mara—the light one—was not in the Quantic World when the explosion went off. She was on a different world looking for a place to live when the vision of dozens of worlds slaughtering each other appeared in her head.

"W-What the hell?!" Then she felt someone behind her and saw Duusu. Mara had been sitting against a wall, so Duusu was preventing any form of motion.

"Don't you love what my master has done?" She said, and her voice was…strange. The scariest part was that her eyes were completely white. Mara saw more of the vision and then saw Kelly standing in the center of it all with golden eyes.

"Y-You're saying Kelly did this?!"

Duusu was playing with Mara's bottom lip not no particular reason, "In a sense. Who else could? Those people were the trial run. It's still a work in progress, tons left to do. Mutual killing videos take a lot of work!" Mara's eyes widened,

"M-Mutual killing?! What does that mean!?" She had been on an island in Africa for her entire forty years of life, she didn't even know what that was!

"Oh that's right." Duusu was shaking, but she looked happy, "Everyone in on those worlds is dead now! Massacred each other as my Lord Kahu and my brother filmed!"

"You're joking…" Mara tried to get up and force Duusu off her, "WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO MAKE A VIDEO LIKE THAT!? It's sick! Just sick!"

Duusu laughed, "Yes it is." She brightened, "Hey…you're gonna be a good girl and help us right, right? Please?"

"No! This is wrong!"

"Oh, you're so adorable." Duusu pressed her face so close to Mara's ear that her lips were almost making contact, "What's so wrong about it? Are we talking about the same thing? Or is your mind on something else entirely?"

Suddenly, someone appeared and sent Duusu flying with a kick to the face. It was Kelly…or Kahu.

"What's the matter with you?!" He demanded, "Five whole minutes I was gone! Stop acting like a pig in heat!" Duusu got up, blood dripping from her nose, and her response was not at all expected,

"You raised your voice at me!" She seemed…excited? "You even kicked me in the face! I'm truly unworthy! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She flopped over and it looked like she had an orgasm.

Kahu frowned, "Okay…what? Kelly was that you?" The mirror rippled to reveal the real Kelly, who also looked down at Duusu,

"No…I think it's a combo of her being sick to begin with and me trying to stop the brainwashing."

"Y-You did this to her…" Mara eventually got out, standing up and pointing to Duusu, "You drove her mad! What do you want? What's your endgame!?"

"This might sound over the top," Kahu replied, "but I'm going to plunge the Multiverse into total chaos under my reign." Mara started running at top speed until Duusu tripped her by grabbing her foot,

"Let go! Let go of me!" Kahu bent down to face Mara,

"If you want to run, don't let me stop you. Just know that if you do, I will have no choice but to make your new friends the stars of my next video to drive folks mad."

"I barely know any of them!" Mara shrieked, kicking Duusu in the face and running away with all the speed her magic allowed. She was a pure light, so combat was not something she was at all comfortable with. Besides, Duusu was supposed to be some sort of god and _that_ had happened!

She didn't know where she was running, but she stopped when she realized the sky was red. And not like a pretty sunset red, but actually blood red over the entire sky, with black clouds.

"What's happening…?" She breathed, scared out of her mind. All she knew was that she had to get out of the city, and try to find the others.

OoOoO

Quantic Jared crash landed on a world of the sort, and landed in some sort of swamp. It took him a moment to process where he was, survey his surroundings, and more importantly that there was a very intense pain in his left shoulder.

He was about to cry out in pain, when he saw a bunch of zombies not far away from him.

His thoughts were running rampant. His world was gone…he didn't know where he was…who had survived? His parents? Kaylee? He couldn't bear it if they had also slaughtered each other. He hoped his family had just been slingshot across the multiverse. Because that at least meant they had a higher chance of being alive.

But he would be no help to anyone if he died. So he had to figure out where he was and get out, then find the others.

He tried to walk, but actually shrieked when he realized his ankle was likely broken as well. So he had to limp—which was hard since his glasses were also cracked—to anywhere safe.

"Sir?" He turned and could make out a girl. Because his glasses were cracked, he couldn't make much out, just that she looked somewhat feminine,

She took his hand and he hissed in pain. She softened her grip, and her voice proved his assumption that she was female,

"I can help you. But you have to trust me. In your condition, you won't last an hour." He didn't know what to really do, but this girl at least seemed to know what she was doing. What did he really have to lose?

She wrapped his good arm around her shoulder and helped him walk until they were out of the spooky, swampy woods, and made it to a huge waterfall which led to a stairwell that led to multiple towers. She looked to him,

"Do you think you can walk up, or should I carry you?" He honestly didn't know the answer, so he tried to take a step, only to suck in a breath. She took that as her answer and literally swept him off his feet, walking up into the tower, and then using the paths between towers to make it to the tallest on, which had beds and even a kitchen.

He didn't know this was the first world Zoe had gone to in her quest to restore Eli's soul, and the furnishings were what Zoe did since she was uncomfortable and didn't know she was pregnant.

She laid him down on one of the beds, and he was shocked to see Eli slumped against the wall. His clothing looked pretty torn, but he himself looked completely fine.

"Who are you?" Jared asked finally, as the girl took his glasses for a moment and gave them back, completely fixed.

She really was a beautiful girl—almost competing with Zoe—with tan skin, hazel eyes, and brown hair. She had side-swept bangs and had her hair in a bun with a braid. She wore a hooded black jacket that fell down to her thighs, tawny trousers, a sturdy brown belt, and a green button-up shirt.

"My name is Alexa Nanami." She said, "How about you?" She gestured to Eli, "I already know who he is."

"Jared Brock." He said, "Well…one of many." Alexa smiled,

"You've met alternate versions of yourself?" He nodded, and she also nodded, "I've met multiple versions of myself in my quest."

"Quest?" Alexa bent down beside him,

"Lay down." He did and she took the hand on the arm which had the dislocated shoulder, "This will hurt." She started moving his arm and he had to bite down on the piece of leather she gave him as his shoulder popped back into place.

"Thank you…" Alexa shrugged,

"It's nothing. As for my quest, do you believe in magic?"

"If you had asked me a month ago, the answer would be no. But now…I still want to believe it's just science we don't understand. But I do believe in what it means."

"Well, when I was a little girl, my father was granted powers as a 'favor' from a friend. But they drove him mad and he couldn't tell what was real anymore. He ran out on my mother, sister, and I before he could hurt us, and now that I'm older, I want to find him and save him."

Jared felt bad for her. Then again, he either felt bad for or was scared of pretty much everyone he had met in the last month. Eli was, fortunately, one of the ones he felt bad for. So he felt safe with Eli. He still wondered how someone as pure as Eli could have married Zoe of all people, but the two clearly loved each other dearly.

"Well, Alexa, hate to break this to you, but the multiverse is under attack from a being called Kahu. So I guess the quest has been brought to a halt." Alexa sighed,

"I should have known it was Kahu." She pulled out some bandage wrap and wrapped his ankle, and made a sling for his arm. Jared turned to Eli, who still hadn't woken up,

"Is he okay?" Alexa looked to Eli,

"Oh, he's fine. He's not even asleep. He's using the mating bond to find his wife." At his questioning look, she explained, "The mating bond is very sacred in the magical world, and it very rarely happens. But when that bond clicks, the two have a connection. They can communicate telepathically no matter the distance if desired. And they can tell when the other is in danger."

"Wow. That sounds kind of nice, always having the one you love by your side, no matter the distance." She nodded,

"Yeah." Eli snapped awake, and Alexa turned, "Any luck?" He shook his head and started crying. Jared had never seen the warlock so vulnerable, so he crawled over and gave him a hug.

Eli was caught off guard, but didn't say anything, "She's alive. But she's hurt. And I can't find her! Something is preventing me from communicating with her!" He broke free of the hug and noticed the condition of his companion, "Oh, you don't look so good." He shut his eyes and flopped over, then three little bottles appeared in front of him, "Drink."

"What are they?" He held one up. It was blue liquid with what looked like green stars in it.

"They're potions. Went back to Potion Hell to grab those. They taste like flavored water. And yes, they are safe. I drank over a thousand of them in one go, and am now indestructible." And then Jared grabbed the tiny bottles and downed them. The pain in his arm and ankle—and part of his face, he hadn't realized that before—left instantly."

"Why do you not have hundreds of them?" Eli narrowed his eyes,

"Try spending ninety days collecting a hundred of those fuckers every single day, with no use for them, so they just pile up in your room. I've dealt with worse, but it was annoying."

"Oh." He and Eli stood up, "So…what do we do now? Obviously we have to find the others."

"Yeah." Eli started pacing, "My priority is my wife, kids, sister, and parents. You?"

"Alya, the other stone wielders, my parents, and my little sister." Eli turned,

"You have a sister? Other Jared has never said anything about a sister."

Alexa explained, "Every version of you is different. Different circumstances create different outcomes. So while one might be an only child, another might have eight siblings. I know how that is for me. I only have one younger sister, but other versions of me have two sisters."

"That…kind of makes sense." Eli mused, "So we don't have a ship. The Lanes Between don't bother me since I am a warlock. But I'm not sure about you, Jared."

"Well I'm a witch." Alexa said, "I probably have a charm that could protect him."

"We'll still need transportation."

"And I'm a dragonlord." They turned and saw Eli's maternal cousin, Colin.

"Colin!" Eli hugged his cousin, "Is Aunt Melanie okay?" Colin sighed,

"She fell victim to the slaughter going on. I hopped on Irsilth and got away." Jared cocked his head,

"Irsilth?" Then he noticed the dragon peaking in the window. He screamed and almost fainted, only for Alexa to catch him.

Colin chuckled, stroking the dragon once they all got up to the roof of the tower, "She's my dragon, Jared. She's harmless if I ask her to be."

"Well…speaking as someone with a fear of dinosaurs, that thing is nightmare fuel." Eli gave him an odd look, and he defended himself, "Jurassic Park gave me nightmares for a month."

"Damn. My kids just roast it."

"Good for them." Colin looked to his dragon,

"We need to find the others. May we ride you?" To the shock of Eli and Alexa—and the horror of Jared—the dragon spoke,

"I am not a horse, Colin." Colin pouted,

"Please?" Then the dragon relented and lowered a wing,

"Hop on, young dragonlord. Must I take your friends as well?" Colin nodded, holding out a hand to Eli, who helped up Jared. Jared turned to Alexa,

"Come with us. We could use someone like you." Alexa took his hand,

"Gladly."

OoOoO

Gizmo was chained up to the wall with her hands above her head, and her hair was also chained even higher so she couldn't use it. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling ever, but it could be worse.

Her analytical power told her it was only a matter of time before someone came in, and she needed answers on Joselyn. Good thing Joselyn was the only one who could get genuine emotion out of her, so she didn't worry about anything else.

Sure enough, not two minutes later, Kahu came in.

"Hello Grace." He greeted, and Gizmo made sure to keep a poker face.

"Hello!" She had multiple tools in her hair, so as she spoke, she broke the cuffs open and used her tech to wiggle them around. Now one pigtail was free. If she wasn't just trying to be annoying, she would use one of the bots in her hair to remove the hair ties that keeps the nine feet of hair in check. Yes, it had grown, it was nine feet now.

Kahu made a move to blast her with a beam of light, and it barely missed, proving he didn't have to miss.

"I don't care what it takes." Kahu said, "I will get the info out of you and your analytical power." Gizmo brightened and shoved him out of the way with her free pigtail, grabbing the taser-like thing Blazze was holding.

"Oh! What's that?" She turned it on and it blasted into the ceiling, "Fascinating!"

"Give it back!" Kahu snatched it out of Gizmo's hair.

"Hey, I like that thing!" She said cheerfully, "Can I have it?"

"No!" Then his demeanor changed and he became calm once again, "Normally I would think you don't know why I chose you. But with your analytical powers, I know you know."

"You want me to join your side." She shrugged, "What's in it for me?" Kahu was taken aback by her answer, then groaned and handed her the taser, "Better…but what else?"

"I have billions of years of knowledge. And I still have Tikki's corpse, so you could study her powers. Think about what you could accomplish. What we could accomplish. Together." He walked up to her and ran his hands through her hair, "Besides, I know you care about Joselyn. I don't know where she is, just that she's alive. And I will keep her that way if you join me."

Gizmo thought about it. Her power told her Kahu assumed her abilities would tell her than working with him was the best for her, but it was actually showing her that it was best for her to work as a double agent and exactly how to do it. And while Kahu could read minds from Kelly's powers, her analytical abilities was like someone telling her something, so it didn't count as its own thought. Besides, any villain would respect an analytical ability stating blatant facts.

She freed herself with her hair, only for said hair to attack Viirus, strangling him and dangling him off the ground. Kahu gaped at how there was no fight whatsoever.

"Damnit. This is what happens when I make sure he only takes my orders. Free yourself!" Viirus immediately forced himself free, without snapping a single indestructible hair on her head.

"Sorry about that. It has a mind of its own." Kahu was clearly very interested by that,

"Prehensile hair with magical properties?"

"Chemical properties." There was no harm in telling him about herself, because he wanted her as a true ally, and it showed trust. And this kept Joselyn safe.

Kahu held out his hand, "So Grace, are you joining me?" Gizmo took his hand,

"I guess I'm Grace right now." Grace was the devil's advocate, Gizmo was not. And she was most certainly Gizmo.

Kahu helped her out of the dungeon, "I know your analytical skills are telling you to betray me." She froze at his stare, "But it doesn't take into account Joselyn's life." Was her power different? Because it did take Joselyn into account. Maybe he was playing with her? He didn't seem to be. Best to roll with this.

"Pollen!" Kahu ordered, and Pollen appeared,

"Yes, my king."

"Take Ms. McAllister to her room and get her changed and cleaned up." Gizmo did have to admit she needed a bath.

So Pollen took her to one of the chambers and had her wash her body first, then stuck all the hair in the bathtub and cleaned it. She had had no idea how much dirt was in her hair and was a little disgusted.

While she knew she would be working as a double agent, her first priority was to find Joselyn. So she sat down and let her power list of possible locations while Pollen brushed out her hair, knowing that would take quite a while.

Eventually, she was wearing a simple blue dress and Pollen left her to her thoughts. Gizmo looked to her hair, which had been bound in a thick braid that still reached her feet. She grabbed the braid and tossed it out the window so it could dry in the wind. She sighed, looking out at the trees as she planned her next move.

Well, she knew Zoe and Sam were in a tower, while Camille was in a darker location. Since Gizmo herself didn't have a directly offensive superpower, she didn't get a Phoenix eye.

Then a thought came up. If Kahu was letting her study Tikki's body, she might be able to collect some of the venom from the Spears of Gungnir and make an antidote.

She turned on her watch. Most people thought it was a recording device for observations, and it was, but it also held a copy of MurderBot's constantly updating file. There was no way the robot's body survived that explosion, so she had to build a new one. Maybe she could add something about studying Tikki's body into it.

So she went off to do that, but Kahu stopped her.

"I have business in the throne room." He said, "Go down the other stairwell if you're looking for Tikki." Okay…

She crept down to the lower floors and almost puked at the sight of what had become of the Goddess of Creation.

"Okay then…" she squeaked out, putting on gloves, "This better be worth it."

OoOoO

Danielle was the first to wake up. It didn't come to her surprise in the slightest that she had landed on a soft bed of ferns.

"Hello?" She called out, and noticed her voice was also different. She was by the river of the sort, and looked at her reflection. She was surprised to see her normal two year old body looked to be roughly eight or nine.

She was a skinny young girl with sickly pale skin and light gray-green eyes with thick eyelashes. Her hair went down her back and was naturally wavy, and appeared silvery-white with grey tones in color.

She was wearing a larger version of her normal outfit— a thin, knee-length dark green zipper coat with a jagged-cut tail, which was unzipped. Underneath, she had on a white scoop-neck t-shirt with a red design on the front, somewhat resembling two interlocking hooks. She had on plain black jeans, and pale brown shoes, each fastened by two zippers.

"Okay, this is weird." She wandered around the woods, until she came across a sight that would haunt her.

Felix was dangling from some trees, bloody, and his wings were not only visible, but completely destroyed. Torn and frayed and burned.

"Fe!" She started climbing the tree to get her brother down, but ended up snapping the branch and he fell to the ground, collapsing into a heap, "Come on, Fe, wake up!" She checked his pulse, he was breathing. That at least was good.

She looked around and sighed in relief when she realized she was in Galowen. She knew people here! And someone could help Felix!

She helped him up, and heard him whimper, and she didn't know what to do. She was still too small to carry him.

"Aelin! Roxas! Mom! Dad!" She called out desperately. She knew this was her fault. Her luck came with a price, and it seemed Felix had been the price. So now she _had_ to keep him alive.

The more she dragged him, the more blood poured from his ruined wings.

They didn't manage to get too far before the sun started going down. Danielle turned Felix on his side so he didn't put weight on his wings.

She sighed, wishing for her luck to help her right now.

"Dani!" Danielle smiled, knowing her luck would come through, once she saw her twin big siblings come out of the bushes. Both of them looked to be roughly ten, and it was clear both had inherited the beauty of their parents. Roxas was also barely bother by his blindness at all, as he held his hand out and sent a shockwave from it that functioned like echolocation.

Aelin shrieked when she saw Felix,

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Felix opened his eyes, which were fiery gold like when he was using his powers,

"B-Blind Eternities…ricocheted off the barrier while trying to protect you guys…" he cried out in pain, but still kept a brave face for his siblings, "It was just the barrier between the Lanes Between and Blind Eternities. I'd be a goner if I had gone all the way in for even a second. But a half second ricochet was enough to do this to me." He sat up, "So please be grateful." He shrieked as a squirrel ran over his wings. Aelin held him close,

"Dani, can you go with Roxas to look for help. I'll stay with him and keep the fire going. Aunt Eden taught me a little healing magic."

Danielle grabbed Roxas and scampered off with him, looking for a village or something that could get Felix the help he required. Though seriously, what does one do in the situation where a Nephilim's wings have been destroyed. The only people who she thought could help were angels, and she didn't want to risk that because for all they knew, Nephilim's were treated the same as in _Supernatural_. And that would be bad.

Then she realized that, what was she worried about? It was proven she was the Ultimate Bullshit with her luck powers. She was going to find someone to save Felix!

Roxas turned, "Dani, I think we need some sort of weapon."

"Yeah." She frowned, "Roxy, do you have a map?"

"Why would I? I'm kind of blind." He threw his hand out, "There's a sign up ahead. Could you tell me what it says?"

"I became an eight year old like three hours ago. I never learned to read."

Roxas crossed his arms, "Just spell it out for me when you see it." They walked up to the sign and Danielle listed off letters,

"C-A-R-T-H-I-S."

"It's Carthis!" Roxas cheered, "This is the capital of Galowen! Ariana will obviously help us!"

They ran through the city and they were relieved to find Ariana walking around in the city, building up her forces.

"Ariana!" Danielle ran up to her. Ariana froze at the sight of them,

"Danielle? Roxas?" They both latched onto her.

"Ari! Felix is hurt!" Roxas pleaded, "He needs help." Ariana turned to her men,

"Men, follow them and retrieve the boy. He will be a useful ally." The guards ran off and came back about a half hour later carrying Felix on a stretcher, and he was rushed to the infirmary.

The healer, Cherokee, wasn't alone with Felix for five minutes before the other three kids ran in to check on their big brother, who was drinking broth.

"I gave him a pain killer." Cherokee said, "But Felix…"

"I won't be able to fly again." She nodded,

"Yeah. But you aren't crippled or anything. I've bound your wings to your back with bandage wrap so you can walk without balance issues." Felix got up,

"Cool." His eyes changed to gold and his ripped clothing mended, "Whether I can fly or now, I am a Nephilim, and a big brother. So it's my job to keep my siblings safe and assist in the coming fight." He looked at his hands, "Maybe I can _finally_ do something super OP." Cherokee left to let Ariana know, and Felix looked to the three scared kids.

"Look." Felix signed, "This isn't the first war I've been in. And I was too little to help. But you three weren't born—though Aelin and Roxas were born almost immediately after, you wanted a piece of the action. But you guys are too young to be in war, if you were normal kids." He bent down to them, "You are stronger than you know. All three of you. So I need you guys to take care of each other and keep out of this fight. Can I count on you to not do anything stupid?"

"We're like four!" Roxas said, "We're supposed to be stupid!" Felix threw his hands up,

"You know what, that point makes me remember I'm a big brother. Let's go find the others and hope nobody's dead. Good?"

"Good!" All the kids said. Ariana came in,

"I'm glad you're well, Felix." Felix shrugged,

"My wings are beyond repair, and that is going to cause an issue later, but everything I have ever known got ripped away from me not one day ago, and my bigger priority is keeping three of the most important people to me safe." The queen placed a candle in Felix's hand,

"I find the fastest way to travel is by candlelight." Felix grinned,

"A Babylon candle." He looked up to her, "These things are extremely rare. Are you sure you should give it to me?" She nodded,

"You're a good kid. There are three uses. One to find your mother, one your father, and one to find Kahu." Felix looked at the black candle, grateful yet stunned. Babylon candles were practically nonexistent because they only had three uses each and the guy who made them had died long ago. Even the queen of a kingdom like Carthis couldn't have more than two of these, and even two was unlikely.

"Ready kids?" He looked to them and they all held on tight, nodding. He used his powers to light the candle, thinking of his version of his father—praying he didn't land on his biological father by accident, because that could cause problems. And then the four kids vanished in a flash of light.

OoOoO

Meanwhile, the Council of Deaths was once again bickering. Really, that was the main thing they did since they were from different areas and had different morals. While this was a huge inconvenience, it kept one mindset from dominating.

"I told you this would happen!" Grim Reaper snapped at Judge, "But no, we should lie to Vita about what he is and assume he would never remember the truth. And now Kahu has Kelly!"

"How were we supposed to know?!" Freya asked. Empty turned to her,

"We made bets about this a month ago!" Morrigan sighed,

"Cradh, this is getting out of hand. I think we should get involved here. Will you help?"

"As of now," Cradh said, "Things haven't escalated to the point you need my help. I mean, I could sent Kraull."

"NO!" The entire council shrieked. Kraull was Cradh's champion, same as Kelly was Morrigan's. Except sending Kraull was basically damning what was left of the Multiverse.

"So what's the plan?" Grim Reaper asked timidly, "Do we kill Kelly? We know Zoe could sever Kelly from the chain like she accidentally did everyone else—meaning all we have to do is rescue her, and we can take the kwamis if we work together—but for all we know that could make Kahu unkillable."

"What did you do last time Kahu attacked?" Morrigan asked. Empty shrugged,

"That was before all of you. And Kahu was much less powerful. So all we had to do was pin him down and do the split." Micah glared at Fawn,

"This is what happens when you make your stone _warp reality_!"

"I mean," Fawn shrugged, "I could try auto-killing Kelly to see if it forces Kahu out. While he would still be a threat, it would be much less so without a vessel. But we know Kelly is strong enough to only be _weakened_ by the auto-kill." Freya paled,

"Auto-kill? Shit, I forgot to revive Jared"

Morrigan raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Why did you kill Jared?"

"He was falling to his death and then got crushed by a falling tower. But that was right before this meeting, and that means two living days ago."

"Well shit, you better hurry." Micah said, "Go. Now."

Empty nodded, "Yeah, you really do need to go."

"Well yeah, Joselyn's been with his corpse for days." Her eyes widened, "And she doesn't know the details of the auto-kill."

"That is true." Empty replied, "But I can vouch that if you wait another day, he won't come back right."

Morrigan cocked her head, "Huh?"

"Oh god," Judge spoke up from where he was casually eating a turkey sandwich, "we don't discuss that!"

"What happened?" Freya asked.

Empty sighed, "It was before you and Mor's time, more specifically last time Kahu came around and we had to use the stones to do the split in the first place. I decided to take a nap and forgot to revive someone after three days and it didn't end well."

"Did they come back like a murderous zombie?" Freya asked, "A lich?"

"Fortunately no." Empty said, "But his brain cells didn't function properly though since they had been frozen to death. So I auto-killed him again and put him in one of the rehabilitations, and everyone there thinks he overdosed on weed and is thus high forever—he's so stoned that they don't know his name! So Freya, I recommend you hurry, because Jared's gonna behave like he's drunk as fuck as it is. And not giggly or emotional or some shit, like can't form a sentence or walk."

Freya's eyes widened, "Okay. I should go now."

Judge nodded, "Yeah." Freya ran off and Grim turned to her as she left,

"You're paying the thousands of dollars for Joselyn's therapy!" Morrigan got up,

"So are we getting involved or not?" Cradh shrugged,

"I'm not, since the situation doesn't require it yet. But I don't see a problem in the rest of you getting involved." Judge nodded,

"Then it's decided. All of you assholes go help your respective stone wielder." Micah got up,

"I'll go help Kagami." Morrigan looked to the judge,

"I don't have a stone. What do I do?"

"Well, this is your family." Judge answered, coming down from the ledge he always sat on above the council table, "I won't assign you anywhere specific, but maybe go help get the gang back together. And since you're so young by comparison to the rest of us, I am going to tell you this. Do. Not. Fight. Kahu. _Alone_! I know you are powerful, extremely so, but doing that is a terrible idea."

"Thanks for the advice." Then she vanished too.

**A/N: Fun fact - Alexa is the very first concept of Zoe. She clearly went through many changes.**

**And we are going to finally see Felix being OP. Wings would make him too OP, so that had to go. Regardless, fifteen down, twenty six to go.**

**Remember to review! (No, I am not killing people because I'm bitter about lack of reviews. It's actually because there are so many characters. And people are dying next chapter, so review with who you want to have live so I'll spare them.)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Severed**

Sam paced around the tower again, plotting his escape. He didn't have much to work with, and the Phoenix eye cuff draining his energy did not help things. But there was no way in hell he was just going to sit around and let Kahu do what he wanted with Zoe.

He looked out the window. There were no bars, but jumping out meant certain death. So that was an obvious no since he didn't have anything to grip onto or use to soften his fall. But he did have an idea. It was dangerous, but possible. He had spent ten years looking for Zoe with no powers other than the ability to see monsters and not be affected by glamours, and survived in the Realm of Darkness on nothing but his own skills, so this was doable.

The door to the tower opened about an hour later for meal time, and Sam had hidden behind the door. He was relived that it was Daizzi and not Viirus. So he was able to hit a pressure point on the back of her neck that knocked her out. It wouldn't last long though.

He ran down the tower, sneaking into alcoves and peaking into hallways before making his way to the exit. He would come back for Zoe, but it was a miracle he himself hadn't been caught yet.

Then he ran into Camille.

"Camille?!"

"Sam?!" Sam noticed the witch didn't have a cuff like he did. At his questioning gaze, she explained,

"I keep a hair tie invisible on my wrist. This isn't my first rodeo, and the cuff comes off easily if there is something under it that isn't skin."

"Smart." Sam peaked out, "Why do you think this is so easy? It's too easy." Camille nodded,

"I thought so too. But from what I gathered, Kahu is out looking for the others, and takes Viirus everywhere for some reason. A lot of the others are in the throne room, I would assume with Zoe. Pollen appears to be Gizmo's handmaiden since she either betrayed us or is a guest instead of prisoner."

"So only the weaker ones are on guard." Sam mused, "And since they think we are both helpless without our powers, it would be an assumably easy job."

"Most likely. Still, I can take most of them. But I do want to find out if Kahu was telling the truth about the status of Jared and Joselyn." He saw the terror in her eyes at the idea of her boyfriend being dead. She had already lost him to that year-long coma, and then he was constantly gone looking for the stones or mourning his friend. Sam was still convinced there was more to Gina's death than just a suicide, and would have investigated further if her body hadn't been cremated.

"So do we want to go in there to rescue Zoe, with just your powers and my marital arts skills to get us by? Or do we try to find Jared and get supplies to come back." He didn't want to leave his best friend, but he had to get this cuff off so he wasn't exhausted.

Camille seemed to agree, "I doubt Kahu will be kind to either of us if we're caught. It's safer to run. And… I think Jared is alive."

"How do you know? Is it the mating bond? Did it click?" Camille shrugged,

"I don't know what it is. Eli's described it kind of like this, so possibly. But I can feel that Jared's alive. Hurt, but alive. Meaning that either I'm just hoping, Kahu's lying, or Freya did the auto-kill and has since brought him back." Knowing Freya, it was likely that third option.

"So we have to find him. And I think Jared would be able to snap Viirus out of the brainwashing. They do have a connection much like Adrien and Plagg, or Marinette and Tikki."

They started sneaking out, and Camille managed to cloak them from sight with her powers.

Once they made it out of the castle, she looked to Sam,

"Any idea how we get off this world?"

"Not a clue." He bit his lip, deep in thought, "But if we're looking for Jared, it stands to reason he would still be on this world if he was auto-killed. So maybe follow the river?" He felt another jolt from the cuff on his wrist and he collapsed, Camille catching him.

"We also have to get that thing off of you. I can get it off, but it will really hurt."

"Do it. Ten years traveling constantly, and a month in the Realm of Darkness, gave me a pretty high tolerance for pain." She sat him down on a rock,

"Still, bite down on something." He didn't have much since everything short of his clothes had been taken, so he used the end of his archmage robe and stuck it in his mouth. Camille placed her hands on the cuff and started freezing it from the inside out. Since it was a metal, Sam felt it, and it was so cold it burned, but he didn't feel the need to cry out. He looked like a wiry kid still, regardless of being thirty, but he could handle himself.

The cuff came off and there was a freezer-burn on his wrist, which he didn't mind. Camille helped him up and they continued walking. Both knew not to shout, because it was only a matter of time before the kwamis knew they were gone and went looking.

Camille bent down and noticed bootprints in the dried mud. It hadn't rained, so they suspected they had come recently.

"Joselyn's boot size." She said, "It's a lead." Sam was impressed,

"When did you learn how to track?" Camille turned,

"I've been looking for my family since I was ten. In that time, I became a master tracker. I've been tracking Joselyn this entire time. I've had to use it to find Jared before, back when I had first fallen in love with him."

"Is it a Sommers family trait to immediately know the one you are meant to be with after one meeting?"

"No." Camille replied, "That's just my hopeless romantic of a brother getting lucky. I've actually dated many guys before Jared—hell, I even dated a girl once out of curiosity—but I noticed his pain from one meeting and got curious. We talked for a bit, and I found myself developing feelings for him. Jared flirted a little bit, but I had no idea how he really felt until…" Sam chuckled,

"From what Kagami's told me about him, he was probably in denial about being in love the entire time."

"When did you talk to Kagami?"

"While Jared was in a coma. I realized Iku was within Joselyn, and Kagami and I talked about it. Then we discussed the struggle of having a best friend who was running off and almost getting themselves killed all the time."

"Are you interested in her romantically?"

"I'm gay. So no."

They continued to chat as they followed the tracks. It wasn't long before they heard the sounds of the kwamis looking for them, so they had to be quieter.

Eventually, they saw Joselyn carrying a bunch of wood and putting it in a pile around Jared.

"Joselyn!" Camille called out, and the young girl. Joselyn looked up, shocked,

"Cam!" Then she fell to her knees and started sobbing. Camille and Sam ran over to her as she cried.

"Jos, what's wrong?" Camille noticed Jared on the ground, and realized Freya hadn't revived him, but at least it was the auto-kill so he could be brought back.

"I-I messed up!" Joselyn continued to cry, "A-And now Dad is p-possessed a-and Jared…" She looked to the sticks, "H-He would want a burial close enough to B-Blight." Well thank god they had gotten here when they did, or Jared wouldn't have been able to come back. Camille stroked Joselyn's short hair, which had grown out of a pixie cut and was down to her shoulders.

"It's just the auto-kill." Camille assured, "Meaning Freya can bring him back since she's the one who killed him. It's a defense mechanism." But it seemed Joselyn had stopped listening when she said that Kahu hadn't been the one to kill Jared, and now her sorrow had turned to rage. It seemed that, like Zoe, she had inherited a fraction of the eye-color change that Kelly got. Zoe varied in shades of blue depending on her emotions, and it seemed Joselyn's eyes changed in brightness. While her eyes had been dull and faded when they found her, now they were glowing brightly.

And then Freya appeared. The lady of the lake looked to the setting sun,

"I'm not too late." And then Joselyn lunged at her, shifting into her other form with the white nightgown and the cat mask, only now she looked less like a corpse and her eyes were still blue-violet instead of black. So this was her true final form, but it didn't have a name yet since they didn't know her true power.

"YOU KILLED JARED!" She roared, and Camille and Sam had to pry the child off of Freya and she kicked and screamed. Freya got up,

"I did it to protect him. I'm about to revive him." Then Joselyn shifted back, stunned.

"Y-You're gonna bring him back…" Freya nodded.

"Warning, he is gonna be pretty loopy." She placed a hand on Jared's forehead and he took a sharp intake of air, opening his eyes, which were a much lighter shade than they normally were, but it started going back to normal. His skin was still grey though. Joselyn started crying with joy and hugged him, only she didn't get much of a response.

Freya looked behind them, "We don't have much time." Sam then noticed an issue,

"His ankle is still trapped under rocks." Joselyn nodded,

"I'm not strong enough to get them off. The only option I see is pulling _127 hours_, which I don't want to do." The term '127 hours' was a reference to the movie of the same name, and it meant that they would have to cut the limb off.

"Doesn't he have telekinesis?" Camille asked. At Freya's nod, Cam bent down to Jared, who was staring blankly at the sky, "Jared, you need to get your foot free. Can you use your telekinesis?" It was at this moment that they remembered his control over said telekinesis wasn't great. She also remembered at that moment that she was a witch who had saved Jared's life by jumping after him into death acid, and both was unscathed. So she blasted the rocks and freed Jared, only to see his ankle was a mess of glossy scar tissue and a bone that had obviously healed wrong.

"Oh lord." Freya looked over his leg, "Maybe we should have gotten the rocks off before reviving so we could set the bone in place. Too late now." Sam helped Jared up, and the hulking man just made noises as though he was trying and failing to speak.

"So…" Camille helped support him, "How do we get off this world?" Freya back up and shrieked, falling onto her hands and knees, shifting from girl to large winged black cat. She looked to them, lowering a wing as a gesture to hop on.

"How did you do that?" Sam asked. Freya growled a little, making it clear she couldn't speak in this form. So Sam and Camille dragged Jared onto Freya's back, followed by Joselyn, who held onto Jared tight.

Joselyn looked towards Freya, "Blink once for yes and twice for no. Does Jared need to go to a hospital?"

One blink.

Camille looked to her boyfriend, "Jared, hang on for a little bit. Alright?" Jared smiled lazily, lucidity clearly gone.

Sam looked to Joselyn, "Holding on tight?" Joselyn nodded, and Freya took off into the sky and the archmage looked back at the castle.

_Stay strong for a bit, Zo. I promise I'll be back to save you._

OoOoO

Gabriel woke up in his Naiad form in the water. How had he ended up in the water? No idea.

He emerged from the water as the memories came flooding back, and he saw a tropical island.

"Dad!" Those voices…

"Elaine? Gavin?" Elaine ran over and helped him out of the water. Gavin was carrying a crying Catra. Dausi was behind them, looking tired and cut up.

"I'm glad you all are unharmed." Dausi said, "I had to shapeshift into a sea monster to round you up. That took a lot out of me. Catra almost ended up flying into the Blind Eternities and it was a struggle to catch her before she hit the barrier." Gabriel got up and hugged his two kids and granddaughter. Then he looked up worriedly,

"Natalie! Is she okay?!" Dausi hesitated.

"She was tied to a world that was destroyed." She said, "So either she was forced to move on or…" He was glad she didn't say the possibility that Natalie had stopped existing. That was too painful to think about.

"Well…what about Adrien? Or Emma or Hugo?!" Dausi shrugged,

"I don't know…Adrien is High Fae, so his chances of survival are higher, which means the other kids have a higher chance too." Gabriel sighed in relief, picking up Elaine and Catra while Gavin walked with Dausi.

"How many people do you think at this point have mused how to get off the world they are on to find the others?"

"All of the survivors." Gavin replied, "But the point still stands. How do we get out? Can you fly, Dausi?" Dausi shook her head,

"I'm exhausted right now. I want to find Connor and Amren, but I need to sleep or I won't be help to anyone."

"Alright…" Gabriel looked around. Then he chuckled. Five years ago, he would never dream of being out in nature, but now it was completely normal and he was ready to build a shelter if needed.

Catra started crying, "Grandpa, I'm scared." He nodded, keeping her close.

"It's gonna be okay. I'll get you through this. I promise."

Gavin was already gathering resources with Elaine, and Gabriel was grateful for Eli teaching all the kids survival classes. Gabriel set Catra down and picked up Dausi, placing her in the shade.

By sundown, they had a shelter going and things were running smoothly.

So obviously, things went to shit.

"If you want someone dead, you have to do it yourself."

Gabriel turned and saw Kahu looking around at the shelter. Viirus stood beside him, as well as Nooroo and Duusu. It did hurt Gabriel to see Nooroo once again enslaved, only he seemed perfectly happy—though he had been brainwashed, so he was doing this of his own will, just not in his right mind.

"I didn't see you as the type to do your own dirty work." Dausi taunted. Kahu shrugged,

"There are an infinite number of worlds, and I want to see how they've changed in all these years. And I learned today that these minions are pathetic and worthless." To Gabriel's horror, both the kwamis he had known for years both looked happy at being called that—only Duusu looked horny, while Nooroo just looked happy, and Viirus had no reaction at all.

Catra hid behind Gabriel, and Kahu's interest peaked, "Catra Agreste. Lovely to meet you." He walked over to the little girl, not even reacting to Gabriel as he flung the Naiad into a tree when he tried to defend his granddaughter. Kahu smiled kindly to Catra, mirroring Kelly's expression with his own kids, "I'll make this simple. You're either with me or against me. There are plenty of people you could stay with."

"No, you're mean!" Catra crossed her arms, "Where are my mommy and daddy and brother and sister?" Kahu rolled his eyes and Dausi got up,

"Such a disappointment." Kahu said quietly, "But I can't have power like yours running freely." He threw a hand up, and Gabriel understood what was happening before anyone else did.

"Catra!" He shoved her out of the way, and the Spears of Gungnir hit him instead of his granddaughter.

"DAD!" "GRANDPA!" "GABRIEL!"

Lucky for him, he died immediately before registering any of the pain that came from the spears.

…

Catra froze at the sight, knowing that had been meant for her. She growled, activating Cataclysm in both hands and attacking. Kahu wasn't bothered in the slightest,

"So unorthodox. Maybe I didn't have to be worried." He vanished, and Gavin and Elaine were being held back by Dausi.

"You can't touch the spears." Dausi said, "The poison alone is fatal enough to kill." The spears then vanished, returning to Kahu, who simply sent Catra a look before vanishing.

Elaine cried, and Gavin stormed out of the shelter to go let out his emotions somewhere else. Catra looked upon her grandfather's body. It had happened so fast, she was still processing it. That was how Gavin felt when he lost his birth mother, Macy, the first time—one moment she was alive, the next she wasn't.

Dausi was trying to comfort Elaine, who was now an orphan. But Elaine, unlike the innocent Catra and level-headed Gavin, had inherited the temper from Gabriel. So seeing her father die right in front of her caused pure rage to course through her veins.

And then her appearance started to shift. She was DemiFae, so she could technically do so, only part of it came from her powers which had been connected to Nooroo and Duusu since her parents were the respective former wielders. When transformed as such, Elaine's sclera turned deep pink, her normally ice blue irises darkened in color became blue slits with white pupils, jagged purple butterfly symbols appeared on the sides of her face, and fangs and claws appeared—those last two was more a Fae thing and had nothing to do with Nooroo and Duusu.

It was common knowledge to anyone and everyone that an angry Agreste is not something anyone wanted—let alone as an opponent. So when Elaine jumped into the sky and left the world all on her own, everyone knew this was going to end in someone dead.

And then the weirdest thing happened. All memory of Gabriel Agreste vanished from the people who knew him. It wasn't like this existence had been erased, there were still pictures, but any personal memory was gone. So Gavin didn't know why he was so upset, or who the corpse was. Elaine was still mad, but she didn't remember why.

…

Adrien blinked in confusion. Plagg turned to him,

"Adrien? You okay?" Adrien looked to his only son—who took after everything Marinette—and rubbed his eyes,

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just felt like I forgot something really important. It's probably nothing."

"I got that feeling too." Hugo said, "Dad, do you think Mommy, Emma, and Catra are okay?" Adrien hesitated, before smiling,

"I'm sure they're fine, Hugo." He looked back to Plagg, "You strong enough to travel? I still keep the Gummi Ship keychain on my person at all times."

"I'm okay." Plagg assured, looking at his hands. There were plenty of side effects, and it had been touch-and-go when he had to use it against bandits, but he was okay enough to sit while Adrien did the driving.

Adrien threw the keychain and helped Hugo into the ship while Plagg collapsed on the bed inside the ship—unaware that his pale complexion at the moment plus him sleeping on that bed was triggering some bad memories within Adrien of the Ashwood arrow he had taken to the gut all those years ago. Had it really been years since he had died that day? It didn't feel like it, but at the same time it did since he had spent a lot of that time going between different hospitals.

Hugo crawled onto the bed with him, "Uncle Plagg, are you okay?" Well…his heart had failed for a moment only a few hours ago, so he wasn't feeling great. But Hugo was too young to know that.

"I'm alright, champ. Just really tired."

"Okay." They both looked to see Adrien driving, and Plagg noticed his kitten's shoulders shaking. Plagg got up, trying to not show the amount of effort he had to put into it.

"Adrien, you alright?" Adrien looked up,

"S-Something's wrong with Mari. I can feel it." Plagg bit his lip and sat down with Adrien,

"She's gonna be fine, kitten. We'll find her." Adrien looked down to Plagg's stomach, where there had been a fatal wound the last time they had been in this ship. Plagg sighed, "Do you need a hug?" Adrien broke down in tears and accepted the hug while Hugo started driving—not that either noticed at moment.

Plagg started purring—he had been a cat for billions of years, so of course he still did it, kwami or High Fae—and Adrien laughed slightly, and then realized his son had been driving.

Adrien went back to driving, searching for his connection with Marinette that had kept him going for over ten years. Then out of nowhere he stepped firmly on the pedal and landed on an unknown world. The place seemed pretty bleak and grey, almost like a graveyard, yet different from the Dark Tower where there appeared to have been a war—this was as though the whole place had been destroyed by some sort of disease or maybe even drowning from the water damage around. This world wasn't actually a world, it was a _fragment_ of the Quantic World.

"Where are we…?" Plagg wondered aloud, "I can sense this is our world, but where is this meant to be?"

"Adrien! Plagg!" The two Fae in question turned and saw Alya and Nino waving to them.

"Guys!" Adrien scooped up Hugo and ran to his friends. Alya looked frantic, Nino too,

"The others are this way. Hurry!" Alya ran, and even with Fae speed it was hard to keep up. But Adrien could feel Marinette and left Plagg in the dust.

What he saw made him freeze.

While pretty much everyone was there—not including Joselyn, Psychic Jared, Camille, Sam, Gizmo, Zoe, Eden and Hana—Marinette was laying on one of the beds. She wasn't moving and barely breathing.

"Marinette!" He ran over to her, frantic. Felix was sitting next to Marinette, using his powers.

"She won't wake up Adrien, we've tried." Alya stated simply, but it was clear she was devastated.

"The you haven't tried hard enough! Marinette, wake up! It's me, Adrien!" Adrien shook her shoulder, but Marinette was just as limp as ever.

"In the crash…" Chloe explained, "The four of us crashed onto another piece of our own world. Because Marinette's a witch, she used her spells to protect us. But she hit her head and broke her cranium. She's suffering from internal bleeding, and we suspect she doesn't have long.

"Fix her!" Adrien ordered of Felix. Felix looked frightened as Adrien's eyes changed—scelare turning black—since the young Nephilim wasn't used to using his abilities. Eli placed a hand in front of his son,

"Adrien, the head is a delicate thing. Marinette suffered severe brain damage as well as her cracked skull. If Felix heals her, it could fuck up her head."

A woman Adrien would later know as Alexa had an idea "What if we turn Marinette into a blank slate?"

"WHAT?! NO!" Adrien objected. Harrison clasped his hands, thinking. He then nodded,

"That could work."

"No! I don't want to lose her—"

"She'll still be here—"

"She won't remember us—!"

"Marinette will still be aware of who you are." Gavin said, "And doing this would decrease the risk in healing her. Besides, Felix, while you have power over the mind, it's not nearly as strong as Jared or Kelly. You wouldn't be able to completely erase her memory."

Adrien remained silent. He then shakily asked "We'd... we'd still be...?"

Plagg smiled, placing a hand on Adrien's shoulder, "That depends on how you act, Adrien."

Adrien looked at Marinette. He grasped her hand "Hey, we're still friends…maybe still be mates… even if you don't remember." He looked at Felix "G-go ahead." He reluctantly let go of Marinette's hand, aware this was the last time he was holding her hand as Marinette. Well, the Marinette he knew...

Felix placed two glowing hands on either side of Marinette's head. Moments later, she stirred, and asked, "Who... who are you? Who am I?"

Adrien quickly answered, "I'm Adrien, this is Alya," he gestured to Alya, "and these people are Felix, Eli, Harrison, Plagg, Jared, Kagami, Gavin and Chloe, and you... your name is Marinette."

While Adrien continued explaining everything to Marinette, Plagg looked around,

"Where's Zoe?" He asked with a tone that signaled he knew something was wrong. Emma noticed as well, and also inquired to Zoe's whereabouts. "Is she alright?"

Eli opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Colin walking in. He bowed his head in greeting to the others before stating "I am afraid the dragons have given me grave news... Zoe has been taken."

"WHAT?" was the general response.

Eli summoned Goldryn, "Okay, who did it? They're gonna learn the hard way what happens when you mess with—"

"I admire your loyalty to your wife, cousin, but you may be relived to know that we are already planning on defeating the fiend."

Eli dropped Goldryn, it vanishing in sparks of light. His eyes were wide with terror. Emilie looked equally afraid as she squeaked "She's... Zoe's been taken by Kahu...?"

Colin nodded, "As well as Camille Sommers, Sam McCall, and Grace McAllister. I believe the time we have been preparing for has arrived." Eli then decided to take charge, counting heads and making sure there were enough.

"Alright…Mom, Dad and Dausi, I want you to go find Joselyn and Jared. Stone wielders, look for Hana and Eden. Gavin, Felix and anyone else with psychic abilities, use your powers to locate the four captured and try to get a location. Once we have a location, we will go find them."

"We want to help too!" Roxas insisted. Aelin and Danielle got excited too.

Eli thought for a moment. It was obvious he didn't want his children involved, but he would have to be an idiot to ignore the fact that all four had abilities that would be useful in the fight.

"Very well, you may come along." the three younger Sommers kids whooped in delight. "Just prepare for the storm ahead..."

**A/N: Almost everyone is reunited. So…next chapter has stone wielders, Eden and Hana, and Camille, Sam, Psychic Jared, Joselyn, and Freya. Chapter after that has Zoe coming back.**

**And to explain—it will be clarified later, but just for the sake of time—the reason everyone forgot about Gabriel when he died is because Zoe severed him from the chain (there is an explanation for how she did that too), which is basically existence. So when he died, nobody remembered him because there was no longer any 'him' to remember. The bright side of bering severed while still alive is that nobody can use mind powers on you.**

**And Kahu can use the Spears an infinite amount of times since Kelly was capable of doing so.**

**And as usual, remember to review!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: We do end up seeing Zoe in this chapter, so this is a long chapter.**

**Chapter 29: Lost and Found**

Camille awed at the sight in the Lanes Between. It was gorgeous, and likely a once in a lifetime experience. She was a witch, so she could travel around through this method whenever she wanted to, but she had never taken a moment to enjoy the view due to the speed she usually traveled.

Sam was clearly amazed as well, and he was also making sure Joselyn was staying on Freya's back. Jared was either sleeping or staring blankly at nothing in particular. He didn't seem to be dying at the very least, but he wasn't in good condition.

Freya then out of nowhere started panicking, and Camille noticed the sun coming up, and they all landed on a world. It appeared to be modern, and they were at a high school.

Sam helped Camille off, and they both helped Jared off, supporting him. Jared swatted them off, only to fall over since he was unable to support himself.

"Alright." Freya shifted back, looking down at herself, "Sweet. My clothes were always destroyed when I transformed in life."

"About that," Camille said, "How did you do that?" Freya's expression darkened and she looked at her hands,

"When I was fourteen, I accidentally killed a man in self defense…he was trying to hurt me. When the man's mother, a sorceress, learned what I'd done, she cursed me to kill forevermore. The curse forced me to transform into that creature every night at midnight, and while in its form I was subject to an uncontrollable desire to kill. I died of a stab wound I got in that form, but that was two years later." She looked up, "Since I died, I can transform at will and not have the murder desire, but I can only use it at night. Since the sun is up, I was about to change back, so we had to land."

"Fair enough." Joselyn said, "Sorceress sounds like a bitch, but at least it's convenient now." Freya shrugged,

"For now, we have to find a hospital for Jared."

"Holy fuck!" They all turned and saw a group of teenagers, who looked a lot like them. The only one that was new was a girl around roughly fourteen.

She was roughly 5'3' and had raven-colored hair down to her mid-back in a ponytail, and the tips were dyed an electric blue. She had bright green eyes, thin lips, and a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She was very lean, yet muscular for the little amount of meat on her bones. Her skin was fairly pale, but not in an unhealthy sort of way like Danielle's. She was wearing a pair of Converse high-tops and faded, ripped jeans that cut off half way down her calf. She also wore a green button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up just past her elbows and the shirt itself only buttoned half way, revealing a black tank top.

The others just looked like versions of themselves who hadn't been through shit. Sam and Freya weren't present in the others, neither was Jared—the new people looked like Cam, Zoe, Eli, Adrien and Marinette.

Mystery girl turned on a flashlight and looked them over while Adrien and Marinette were screaming in French—which only Freya, Camille, and Sam could understand since one was an afterlife leader and the other traveled for years. Joselyn had taken Japanese for foreign language, and Jared was to out-of-it even if he did know French.

"What happened to him?" Zoe-lookalike gestured to Jared—to whom had absolutely no color on his body other than his eyes, even his skin was grey, hair was white, and his eyes were still more faded than usual.

"He…." Sam hesitated, "Fell off a cliff and we didn't find him for a while."

"You just came down on a flying cat!" Eli-lookalike said, amazed, "And then it turned into a girl! Is there some sort of magic involved?!" Camille looked to her double and smiled sheepishly,

"Something like that. Anyway, Jared is freezing, injured, and kind of loopy. Is there a hospital nearby?"

"Yeah." Mystery girl said, holding out a hand, "I'm Kaylee."

"And you are explaining as we drive." Eli-lookalike said, gesturing to his car. He did seem a lot less paranoid than the brother Camille knew. Of course, the odds of this one having been enslaved and raped were not likely. This meant that he likely didn't suffer from the bad luck curse that affected the eldest born male in each generation of the Sommers family—Harrison had Cystic Fibrosis, Eli was prone to end up in horrific situations, Roxas was born blind, and so on, and it had been that way for the last thousand years.

"Well this means skipping first period." Zoe said, brushing back her short hair and cracked her knuckles, "And that's a win in my book."

Kaylee examined Jared, "He didn't really fall off a cliff, that injury on his leg would make it unlikely."

"He really did fall off a cliff." Freya said, "That injury was healed by magic. It's only three days old, but healed wrong.

"Woah. Okay." Marinette looked out the window, "That is…"

Sam paled, "Oh no."

The group in the car—and they were all piled on top of each other, which was not safe in the slightest—looked out the windows and watched the stars in the sky start going out and the remaining sky turned blood red.

They reached the hospital and the teens helped the team support Jared and get him into the hospital. Jared was brought to the back and to their shock, Dr. Winston appeared.

"Dr. Winston?!" Dr. Winston blinked,

"Guys?! I just crash-landed here and decided to help out. Turns out that was a good thing since I know the family secret." Kaylee looked to Freya,

"You know him?" Freya nodded,

"We do. To summarize, the leg is a fresh injury, hair color won't be fixed, he's freezing, and his braincells aren't fully functional yet." Dr. Winston shrugged,

"Okay, that's not nearly as bad as the times I dealt with Plagg. Oh, and what are the cover-up relationships?" Camille hesitated, and noticed her double was curious as to the answer,

"He's my boyfriend. That is true." Dr. Winston looked to Joselyn,

"And should I assume you would be the daughter in this scenario." Joselyn hesitated, but realized that Jared really was a second father to her. So she just nodded.

Adrien and Marinette were talking to each other in French, and then Freya joined in—much to their shock and horror.

It wasn't long before Dr. Winston came back out, "Okay, he's fine. Sleeping. And now I recommend preparing for the coming apocalypse. I already got the salt and Faebane in Jared's room so as to postpone magical attacks from spirits or Fae." This was the perk of having a doctor who knew about magic. He looked to the teens, "Kids, I'm serious. School is canceled, GO."

"Are you just saying that?" Zoe-lookalike asked. Dr. Winston crossed his arms, showing more backbone than anyone had ever seen from him,

"Look, even if I was, you and these other children other than Ms. Brock have no right to be here since you are not friends and family of the patient. And trust me when I say not to underestimate this family's bullshit, and you really should be preparing for the end. _Capice_?"

The teens grumbled and left, and Dr. Winston brought the others back to Jared's room.

"He was extremely cold," He said, "But the other doctors bought the story of him falling down a cliff and not being found for a while, and the stage of healing on his leg supports that. I did have to say the hair was a gene mutation, so roll with that if asked. But otherwise he's well on his way to recovery."

"What about his leg?" Sam asked worriedly, "That was a pretty nasty injury."

"It is." Dr. Winston agreed, "Well, since the bone healed wrong, the best course of action under normal circumstances would be to put him through surgery to break it and realign it. But judging by the corpses that started raining from the sky, I would say we don't have time for that. Though he isn't crippled it anything. It will hurt to walk on, and no pain tolerance will prevent him from falling over if he steps wrong, but he will be fine for the most part as long as he's careful."

"You seem to have grown a pair since we saw you last." Camille stated bluntly. Dr. Winston glared,

"In the multiverse these days, it's kill or be killed. I knew Zoe would cause the apocalypse one day back when I diagnosed her with Brief Psychotic Disorder all those years ago—though in hindsight I should have just diagnosed her with Always Psychotic Disorder. The point is that I needed to toughen up if I want to live and take care of my niece."

They arrived in Jared's hospital room and found him sleeping under a pile of blankets, with an oxygen mask, and a bandage on his arm.

"We had to do some airway rewarming—that's what the oxygen mask is for—and blood rewarming. He's stable and will wake up in his own time. I did what I could for his leg and there are crutches and a cane for him to choose from since I know wheelchair is out of the question after last time I treated Jared."

Joselyn sat down in one of the chairs, while Freya went to the window, paling significantly—which was a little weird with how pale she already was, being dead and all.

"This is bad." Camille looked out as well, "This is really bad." Then she realized she recognized some of the corpses falling from the sky.

They were from Blight.

"Oh…hell…"

Joselyn didn't see this, and was holding Jared's hand. He didn't seem peaceful while sleeping, and his behavior suggested he was caught in a nightmare.

After a few minutes, he shot awake, breathing heavily.

"Jared, it's okay." Joselyn assured, "It was just a dream." Jared took a couple shaky breaths, trying to calm down. His eyes were watery, even if he tried to hide it. But at least he was lucid.

"W-What happened to my leg?" He looked to his bandage leg, and then noticed a strand of white hair falling in his face, "And my hair?"

"Yeah…" Freya turned and Joselyn wrapped her arms around his neck,

"You're okay! You're alive!" Jared smiled and hugged her back, but then the moment ended.

"Joselyn, what happened? The last thing I remember is you and I falling after Kelly became Kahu's vessel."

"That was three days ago." Freya explained, "You were dead until five hours ago. I used the auto-kill to save you, but then got dragged to a council meeting. Your leg healed wrong…"

"So Kahu is running amok with Kelly's powers." Jared removed the oxygen mask and ripped the IV out of his arm. Then he yelped as he stepped wrong on his fucked up leg and fell onto the floor. Sam and Camille helped him up, and Joselyn handed him the came,

"Something tells me you don't want crutches." The came was just a simple black thing, but it would work for the time being.

"Thanks, kid. We need to find the others and make sure that nightmare doesn't become reality." Freya bit her lip,

"By any chance…did your nightmare have anything to do with the destruction of Blight?" Jared's expression changed from calm relief to terror, and he ended up dropping the cane,

"Yes." Freya opened the window and Jared saw the bodies of his friends and comrades scattering the streets of this new world. For about two seconds, he looked heartbroken. Then his eyes started glowing bright, blood red—which was quite off-putting with the white hair—his scelare and irises were now that color.

And everything was silent. Jared didn't say a word as he limped out of the hospital room, not bothering to pick up the cane. Camille realized what this was immediately from the horror stories she had been told by some of the other Blight residents. It took a lot to get Jared like this, and last time was not a fraction as bad as having his world destroyed and everyone he had known killed.

Kahu was _so_ fucked.

"So…uh…Jared…" Freya played with her hair, "There's more." Jared turned, and Freya went on to explain that had become of the kwamis, how the Quantic World was destroyed, and that Zoe was captured and Gizmo had debatably betrayed them. If possible, Jared's eyes got even darker red, and the glowing was so intense that a ghost was wearing sunglasses. It was an odd sight to see a woman in otherwise medieval clothing wearing modern sunglasses, but nobody could blame her.

Joselyn went to approach Jared, but Camille stopped her,

"It's not safe until Kahu's dead." Dr. Winston came back in with a bottle of pills,

"Here. For the pain." Freya examined the pills,

"Pixie dust?" He froze, then sighed,

"Fine. I'm a pixie. But that doesn't matter right now since they really are pain killers, I'm not causing any mischief. And they will help calm you down." Then the pills were discarded, only for Sam to take them.

"Thanks. We'll need these. If not for you, Jared, than for everyone else." Jared just proceeded to limp out of the hospital. Freya looked at the sky and corpse rain,

"Well….the sun isn't out. I could try transforming again." So she did and took off.

Morrigan appeared in front of them while they traveled, using the same magic Camille would if she was moving between worlds.

"So Jared learned about Blight?" Freya nodded, and Morrigan shrugged,

"We already have a devastated Kagami. But at least neither of you got brainwashed. Come on, the others are this way."

OoOoO

Quantic Jared looked to Plagg and a sobbing Kagami—who was using Alexa as a shoulder to cry on; formerly Chloe, but it was traded for Alexa when they all went off to their assigned tasks.

"Any idea where Eden and Hana would be?"

"Not a clue." Plagg replied, "Knowing the two, they could be anywhere. Hana's lack of fucks is kind of legendary, and Eden's personality shift makes it hard to tell. Neither seem like the type to completely ignore the issue at hand."

"If one of you takes Kagami, I can scry for them." Alexa offered, "Or maybe you three could call upon your respective death." Oh right! He had forgotten they could do that.

After a moment of focusing from all three, two of the council members appeared.

"Hey." Grim Reaper waved sheepishly, and Micah was relaxing next to a tree. Plagg pouted,

"Cradh isn't gonna be helping me, is he?"

"No." Both Grim and Micah said in synch. Alexa looked between the two,

"Who goes to who?" Grim went to Quantic Jared, and Micah went to Kagami. Jared looked at Grim,

"So…are you in charge of humans?" Grim Reaper nodded,

"Yeah. Not that it really matters. Why?"

Jared looked desperate, "Kaylee Brock. Is she alive?" Grim then pulled out at least eighty files,

"There are many versions of Kaylee Brock. Which one is yours?" Jared flipped through the files until he found the one of his sister. Grim examined it, "So she isn't in the death system. Either her soul was destroyed, or she's still alive." Words did not describe how much Jared hoped for the second option.

Kagami looked at Micah, and started asking questions about her powers and how they affected her genes.

"Well it is a part of your DNA." Micah explained, "So a child of yours has a pretty good chance of picking up some of those powers." Plagg crossed his arms grumpily,

"Look, we're searching for Han and Eden. Any idea where they are?" Grim and Micah looked to each other, before shuddering.

"We don't know." Micah said quietly, "But we know who would know."

"Did someone call!" Empty appeared with… a box of eggo waffles? For some reason, the two other council members shrieked.

"Ah…" Micah was the first to calm down, "Empty…were you waiting for us to need you?"

"Yup! Looking for Hana Miller? She's fine. First she and Eden Imelda landed on Innistrad, but Eden had seen Zoe get kidnapped, so they are trying to find her."

"Oh of course." Plagg snapped, "Back into danger we go." He sighed, "Sorry. I'm just a little bitter about not getting any help with my powers."

"That's fair." Empty admitted, "Also, I can take you to them. Just follow my magical signature." Then the guardian of lost souls vanished. Quantic Jared looked to the others, and then to Grim,

"How do we follow?" Grim put a hand on Jared's back and pushed at a pressure point until amethyst-colored wings sprouted out of his back. Micah did the same to Plagg and Kagami.

"Wow…" Kagami looked at the emerald wings, "I'll have to study these once this is over."

After a moment of the three failing to fly, Plagg got the hang of it—having been able to fly as a kwami.

"It's like walking, just focus the motion on your wings instead of legs." With that advice, the other two managed to get off the ground. Micah and Grim looked to each other,

"Follow us."

The flight wasn't long, and the world they landed on appeared to be a forest. Once end of the forest had a small fortress, and the other had a large apartment building.

"Oh…" Plagg paled, "I remember this place. Come on. I want to see if I'm right."

Micah turned, "If you are referring to the Nonary Game your friends played here, this is the place. It's dormant, but still useful."

They flew into the building through the open hatch and found Hana and Eden talking while packing up the rations and some weapons.

"H-Hey…" Hana said shyly—something she never was, so this was interesting for the others—and she looked to Eden. Eden turned,

"Hm?"

Hana started playing with a strand of golden hair, "I…wanted to tell you something. Ya know…I've wanted to tell you for a while….but then you died, and came back sad…and I didn't think it was the right time…but we're alone right now…and this might be the last chance I get…" Eden's expression softened,

"Han—?" She was stopped by a firm kiss which had Quantic Jared a little jealous at her courage to confess love. Even more so when Eden returned it as a tear slipped down her cheek.

But they had to reveal themselves now. Jared mentally apologized, before hopping down,

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything." Hana turned, turning bright red. Eden glared darkly at him. Plagg jumped down as well,

"So you finally confessed. Congrats, Han." Hana growled and went to the kitchen, and they all heard her muttering to herself. Eden flushed,

"Anyway, Han and I are gonna go look for Zoe. Kahu has her."

"We know." Plagg said, "We're all doing a rescue mission once Morrigan, Amelia, and Harrison find Jared and Joselyn. Going in alone is suicide."

"I suppose you're right." Eden mumbled, "Regardless, I have food and weapons. Turns out Zoe completely forgot to mention the laser guns in the pink section. Maybe because her forbidden acton was killing. There were also knives in a hidden room of the green area."

"Well, I guess that would come in handy." Kagami mused, "But we are going against Kahu and a group of the most powerful Fae in our timeline."

"Still better than nothing." Eden shifted into Tenshi, "So are we leaving? I would rather find my sister soon." They were interrupted by Micah, Empty and Grim's eyes both lighting up and the golden crown-thing branded onto their respective foreheads starting to glow. Freya and Morrigan also had that mark on their foreheads, so it must be a thing about the Death Council.

"Well…" Grim Reaper hesitated, "Good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first." Hana came back in with a large hammer,

"Good?" Micah played with his hair,

"They found Zoe." Eden's eyes widened at how that was the good news.

"A-And the bad…is she…?"

"She's alive." Micah assured, "But…only just…and she might not stay that way."

While that was happening

Freya landed on the world with the others, and Jared was the first off, still pissed beyond belief. He limped to the entrance, and everyone was excited to see him alive.

Felix got a look at his leg and gestured for Jared to sit down. He didn't, and the young Nephilim hesitated, before throwing a hand in the direction of Jared's lower leg, and that part had a purple-blue glow similar to Jared's forcefields.

"It's a support so it won't hurt as much to walk." Jared looked down at his leg, and nodded to Felix, not saying a word. He turned to leave, but was stopped by Eli. Normally nobody would go near someone radiating rage the way Jared was, but Eli was literally indestructible and needed Jared's help, so it was a necessary risk.

"Listen, I know you're mad. But I have a plan, to get Zoe back. And if things go according to plan, you'll get to stab Kahu at least once." He was lying when he said that was part of the plan, but he wasn't lying that there was a possibility of that coming to pass.

Camille sat down, letting herself be embraced by her worried parents. Harrison looked to his son, "What's the plan?"

Eli's demeanor changed to that of a leader—something only Pixie Girl had ever seen, and she wasn't there at the moment—and he actually had a presence of his own, in the enchanted armor of his maternal grandfather and wielding Goldryn.

"Jared, Adrien, Sam, Camille, Joselyn and myself will go to the castle to retrieve Zoe and Gizmo. Joselyn knows Gizmo best, and would be able to sway her if she really did turn on us. Camille will go with her as someone to watch her back. Adrien's Fae hearing in a necessity, as well as Jared's combat skills and mind powers, my indestructibility, and Sam's ability to see through glamours. Since Kahu probably knows we are all together, he would be in his castle."

"What about Eden and the stone wielders?" Felix asked, "Or me?! I want to help!" Eli kissed his son's forehead,

"Felix, I love you too much to put you in direct danger like this. It's one thing in a fight where you could fight on a field with weaker enemies, but this is a god in a small castle. And Eden isn't here right now, same with the other stone wielders. And I think Jared is already leaving, so we should go." Sure enough, Jared was already walking out of the hut. Adrien tossed the Gummi Ship keychain onto the ground and it turned into the actual ship.

"Come on, Jared." Sam said, "This is faster than just flying on your own two wings." That got Jared into the ship.

Emilie smiled to Eli, "Bring her home." Eli nodded,

"I will. I promise."

"Joselyn!" Freya ran over to the girl, "Your powers, Worldbender powers, are illusions and necromancy. But I can sense Kahu did something, so be careful." Joselyn nodded, looking at her hands as Camille led her to the ship.

30 minutes later

"It's so... sad..." Eli said, eyes lingering on the mountains where the castle resided. Jared blankly looked at the beautiful yet haunting place, wondering how much destruction could be contained here—and wishing he was stabbing Kahu right now, but that went without saying. He also kept an eye out for Zoe, as if he could see her among the monoliths of cliffs and gorges.

Joselyn cupped her hands, and a small dragon appeared and flew in the direction of the castle.

"Are those your illusions powers?" Sam asked. Joselyn nodded,

"I figured I should at least try it out. The dragon is heading in the direction of Zoe." Then she shuddered, a dead look entering her eyes. "Anyway, I think we should go now."

They walked for a good ten minutes or so, with Jared summoning his wings to carry Adrien and Sam, before Jared stopped and landed on a ledge.

"Jared, what's wrong?" Adrien asked, pulling up next to him. Jared didn't say anything, and Camille looked at her twin, "Think you could try and find Zoe?"

Eli closed his eyes and concentrated on Zoe, removing the barrier between them.

His eyes suddenly snapped open, rolling back into his head, and he fell to the ground. He was twitching and jerking, and moments later he screamed in agony.

"Eli!" Adrien and Jared knelt next to him, worried and confused. Joselyn got worried, "Eli, snap out of it!"

Eli's scream trickled away to a whimper, and he opened his eyes blearily. He blinked a few times, taking deep breaths, then stood and started flying again, "She's just ahead, but we gotta hurry—"

"Eli, what was that about?" Adrien asked.

Eli stopped. "I don't know, but Zoe's in trouble. Big trouble. Come on, we gotta hurry!" The others followed, with Jared carrying the two unable to fly—Sam and Joselyn.

Creeping into the castle wasn't hard with the combined powers of the group, but it was still a challenge. But it wasn't long before they found themselves on a ledge closer to the ceiling of the throne room. Camille kissed Jared's cheek, but he didn't react,

"Jos and I will look for Gizmo. Good luck." Then she left with Joselyn while Jared looked around for any sign of Zoe,

"Eli, where is she?" Sam asked.

Eli pointed ahead, "Down there."

Jared held Eli, Adrien and Sam back, and looked over the edge. He froze, expression blank and horrified. He gently pushed Eli back. Adrien looked as well and paled, looking to Eli and whispering, "Eli, you don't want to see this..."

Sam looked over the edge, and his face became an expression of despair, falling to his knees. "No..."

Eli tried looking over, but Jared and Adrien held him back "No, you don't want to—"

"I have every right to see—" he then saw what they were trying to prevent him from seeing, "no…!"

It was Zoe, but she was _far_ from safe and sound.

Her head was hanging low, instead of high and proud like usual. A crown was mockingly tilted on her head. Her arms, horridly filled with cuts and gashes, were outstretched and held against the wall by chains. Everywhere else on her was a wound of some kind, still bleeding freely. Drawn in blood behind her was a pair of wings like the ones she could summon as Heartless. She was still.

Eli lurched, trying to get to his wife and mate, but Jared held a firm arm around him. Sam sighed, "We're not alone..."

Seconds later a sword lodged itself inches away from Zoe's neck. She hardly flinched, her hands curled briefly and her head jerked the smallest amount away. Just enough to signal she was still alive.

"Oh come on, Nooroo! You call that following orders?" A sarcastic remark answered. No one felt the need to identify to voice as Blazze, even though she didn't sound at all like the Blazze they all knew. Two fiery daggers embedded themselves in Zoe's palms, making her violently twitch and gasp in pain. "_That's_ following orders."

Zoe's head weakly turned to one of the daggers. She then took a quavering breath, bit her lip, and began painstakingly removing the small thing. Her tears mingled with cuts on her face, staining the liquid red.

"What is she doing?!" Adrien hissed between fear, worry, and annoyance "It looks like she's bled out enough—"

"In case you've forgotten," Jared said, speaking for the first time since they found him, his voice was flat and emotionless, "Those burn as well as cut."

Zoe took another shaky breath and began removing the other. Eli was being held to Adrien's chest. Jared was only looking ahead with a stiff mask covering the pain he felt, barely noticing the young warlock.

"Besides... she might just be going or a mercy kill—" Jared continued before Sam interrupted him.

"NO! Zoe would _never_ think like that!" Jared glared at the scene below him before going back to silent.

A quiet, croaking voice turned their heads,

"Please... stop..."

Eli looked back, bewildered "That... that couldn't be…"

"Just kill me already." Zoe said, "I'm not going to do your fucking bidding, and would rather die than be used against my Dad. You won't get anything out of me. So get it over with."

"Sorry, but we can't," Blazze sounded far from sorry as she walked up to Zoe—a girl who used to be one of her best friends—while the four rescuers backed away from the edge so they wouldn't be seen, "Orders straight from Lord Kahu." She chuckled darkly, ruffling Zoe's messy hair, "We can't have you preforming any heroics."

Zoe suddenly lashed out at her, straining against her chains and screaming "IF I WAS GOING TO 'PULL ANY HEROICS' I WOULD'VE DEFEATED YOU AGES AGO! WITH OR _WITHOUT_ MY POWERS!"

Eli gaped, completely stunned by how desperate and lost Zoe sounded. Zoe wept quietly while glaring at Blazze with hatred no one ever knew she could possess—and that was saying quite a lot. Moments later, her head lowered again in defeat, her sobs becoming an empty wish for release.

"Its so hard to believe this pathetic piece of drivel is what defeated Regina, Hawk Moth, and Mara." A dry, almost bored voice said. Kahu entered their view, "Really, I expected more from you, Zoe. I originally had my sights set on you as my vessel instead of your fragile baby sister, and I thought it would be more satisfying with how you fought even in the womb."

Zoe raised her head again, glaring at Kahu while Nooroo joined his companions. She glanced at each one of them, then spat in Kahu's face. It was obvious she loathed him above the others, and it was easy to see since this was the being possessing her father.

Kahu, after calmly wiping away the spittle, summoned his blade. He hit Zoe upside the head with the blunt part, a horrible smacking sound echoing around the room. The crown fell to the ground.

For several moments, it looked like Zoe had been lost forever. But she weakly raised her head and asked the kwamis as Kahu went back to relaxing on his throne, "What exactly were your orders?"

Nooroo pulled his blade out of the sheath and stated "Our orders were to beat you—" Zoe yelped as Nooroo rammed the blade into her side,

"—into—" Blazze continued gleefully, throwing another set of fire daggers into Zoe's hands.

"—submission." Stompp struck Zoe with a claymore.

Eli lurched at Zoe again, wanting so desperately to help her. The poor woman was still as she was before, not moving and possibly not breathing.

"Well, way to go guys." Kahu sighed "I think you actually ended up killing her."

Eli shuddered violently, and Jared could hear the screams that came from Kelly within Kahu. At least the elder mage was still fighting, but this had to be hell for him, watching as his own powers and hand tore his daughter apart.

Sam, Adrien and Eli gripped the edge of the railing, staring dead ahead with horror. Jared, who looked calm and emotionally detached until now other than his inhumane rage, clenched his jaw in an attempt to try and hide his panic.

"...Not yet..." Zoe said a minute later, and her hidden friends and Kelly sighed in relief.

And that's when Zoe once more raised her head, and saw them. At first, she thought she was losing it. _No, that can't be them! Why the hell would they be here without the others? _But she slowly realized from the way Eli looked at her that they were there. They were there for her. To save her.

For the first time since being captured, Zoe smiled. It was a bare one, yes, far from her normal mischievous grin, but she still found reason to smile in the face of her suffering.

Eli, Sam, and Adrien smiled back, trying to lend Zoe support. They quickly backed away from the edge when Blazze turned around, asking "What are you so smiley about?"

"Nothing..." Zoe sighed "Just imagining the look on your faces when my family comes to kick your asses." Her voice raised in confidence "If you're gonna make me submit, you're going to need to kill my hope. To do that, you're going to need to kill me. Because fuck you, that's why."

She was slapped by Wayzz. "You're trying our patience..." he said with contempt.

Zoe took a breath and cockily snapped, "I can say the same."

After a gesture from Kahu, Wayzz turned and left, not making a sound. Blazze and the others shrugged and followed, sighing "All yours, master!"

Kahu watched them leave, then turned back to Zoe and whispered "Don't think it's over yet, Chainbreaker. We'll be back to finish the job." Sensing something, he turned around, catching the briefest glimpses of Zoe's rescuers. Kahu smirked, and turned back to Zoe.

"Oh, I am well aware they're waiting to help you." Zoe froze. "I'll be generous and let them rescue you for now…" Kahu grabbed Nooroo's forgotten rapier and pulled it out, eliciting a gasp of pain from her. He held the blade between himself and Zoe, examining it absently, "I wonder what it would be like, killing them in front of your eyes as you watch helplessly. That is your worst fear, right?"

"No... please don't..." Zoe was glancing between the blade and Kahu, wondering which was worse.

Kahu chuckled, and summoned one of the Gungnir spears, and plunged the weapon into Zoe's right calf, causing her to seize up again. Her eyes stared dead ahead, a bit of blood started trickling from her mouth as the spear vanished and the poison started to spread.

Kahu started backing away "Don't worry, this will only end in death or suffering. It's not like you don't know what's coming next." And he vanished.

After Jared and the others were sure there was no one left except them and Zoe, they went down the stairs, their only thoughts concerning Zoe.

"Zoe! Princess, please be okay!" Eli dashed up to her and cupped her cheek with a healing spell already going.

Zoe weakly smiled, "I knew you guys wouldn't leave me..." Eli hardly payed attention to this, already working hard to heal her as best he could. He paused at her hands, which were still embedded in the wall behind her by Blazze's daggers. He gave her an encouraging kiss and proceeded to remove them.

Jared arrived with Sam and Adrien, and Zoe stopped grimacing and stuttered,

"H-hey, l-long time n-no see."

Jared took a deep breath and gently pulled Eli away. Sam sent him a sympathetic look, "Come on, we still gotta patch her up."

Adrien unsteadily walked over, and then helped Jared get Zoe off the cliff. They lowered Zoe onto her knees, and Eli wrapped his jacket around her before he held her close. Tears pouring down his face, he softly whispered, "Don't worry, it's all over now." Jared took her from her husband and carried her bridal style since he was the strongest.

Zoe wasn't as lucid as she normally was, since she was still losing large amounts of blood and had lethal poison in her system.

"N-No…you have Cam…I'm Eli's." Jared huffed and dumped her on her husband—to whom was on the brink of a full-blown panic attack, yet masked it as best he could. Eli noticed her hair was shorter again. He didn't know why, and knew he would ask later.

Jared started walking in a different direction, and Sam grabbed him, "What the hell are you doing?! We need to get Zoe to Eden or Felix!" Jared didn't seem to care. And then they realized he was off to look for Kahu—or possibly Viirus, but from what they could tell, finding one meant also finding the other.

"Fine." Adrien relented, "Make sure to come back soon. I'll go look for Cam and Joselyn. Eli, Sam, get Zoe out of here."

Though they didn't need to split up, since Camille came back with Gizmo moments later, but was cradling an unconscious Joselyn in her arms. Everyone gaped,

"What happened?!" Sam asked. Gizmo brushed back some of her hair—which was in a nice braid.

"Well…"

After splitting up

Joselyn and Camille wandered the halls of the castle, searching for Gizmo. It didn't sit right with Joselyn that her friend would betray them with Kahu—but at the same time it did, since she knew Gizmo was a scientist at heart.

It wasn't long before she found herself at the chamber doors she heard Gizmo's voice behind. Then she heard someone shouting.

"You traitor!" The voice could be identified as Kaalki, "You're leaving?!" Camille and Joselyn looked to each other when they heard Gizmo speak,

"For your information, Kahu no longer has anything to offer me since it's been confirmed where Joselyn is located. Why should I stay? I work for nobody but myself and Joselyn. Even if you are right, what makes you think I am leaving? I could be just collecting materials. And I am now thinking about coming back just to make you look stupid."

"Why you—!" Camille and Joselyn ran in and saw Kaalki attack Gizmo, who dodged even with all that hair to weigh her down. Gizmo kicked her attacker in the face and then beamed when she saw Joselyn. Camille helped Gizmo get back while Joselyn went at Kaalki, who dare try to hurt her friend.

The darkness that had risen in her ever since Jared fell into a coma now clawed eagerly for freedom—in built and built, feeding off fears, her own self-loathing, and her fury. In front of her, she no longer saw Kaalki… instead, she saw Iku, her lips twisted in a dark smile.

_Enough! _Joselyn twined glittering threads of energy around herself, energy that came from Kaalki, just waiting to be manipulated—there was suddenly so much of it that she felt light-headed with power, as if she had left her body.

She bared her teeth, and unleashed her anger.

For a single terrifying moment, she could see every single one of the energy threads connecting Kaalki and herself. From Joselyn herself to Kaalki's pain senses. On instinct, she reached out and pulled hard.

Kaalki suddenly scrambled away from her. Her eyes bulged. Then she dropped her weapons and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Normally Joselyn would be horrified by what she was doing, but in that moment, the sound sent a flood of excitement through her so intense that she trembled from head to toe. _The illusion of touch, the illusion of pain._ Oh, she'd wanted to do this for so long.

She pulled harder, twisting, increasing Kaalki's belief that she was in agony—that her limbs were being ripped off one by one, that someone was peeling the skin off her back. Kaalki collapsed to the ground and writhed. Scream after scream.

At first, all Joselyn felt from Kaalki was rage. She glared with murder in her eyes, "I'm going to kill you." She spat out in her pain, "You attacked the wrong warrior."

Joselyn hardened her expression, "No, _you_ have."

Kaalki's rage changed to fear. Terror poured from her—it only made Joselyn stronger, and she threw all the extra power into torturing the brainwashed fae. A part of her was horrified by what she was doing. But the other part of her, the darker side of her, delighted in it. She was heady with pleasure—it washed over her until she felt like a completely different person.

Joselyn walked closer to where Kaalki writhed and looked on patiently with a curious tilt of her head. Somewhere in the midst of her swirling darkness, she caught sight of Camille's terrified eyes fixed on her. _She has the power to stop me,_ Joselyn realized through her haze of exhilaration. But she wasn't.

_Stop? Why should I stop?_ The Kaalki they knew was gone. She tried to hurt not only Joselyn herself, but also Gizmo! Just like everyone else except for a select few people. She had every right to torture her. All the rage and bitterness Joselyn had held in her soul for _everything_ now reaching a peak. Iku's image replaced Kaalki again, her body bent backward in agony. Joselyn's smile turned dark and she twisted harder, harder, harder.

_I will destroy you._

"Stop! Please!" At first she thought it was Camille screaming this, but then the voice changed to that of Iku. She had resorted to begging. Her heartbeat increased to a violent pace.

Something inside Joselyn screamed that this was going too far—she could feel the darkness taking over her senses. Iku—Kaalki—gasped. Her scream cut off as her face froze into a trembling picture of shock. Harder. Joselyn tried in vain to shove it away, to regain control. She couldn't. A real trickle of blood ran from Kaalki's lips. Joselyn's heart trembled at the sight. That wasn't supposed to happen. She was a conjurer of illusions. Can even the illusion of pain eventually trigger something real? Again, she reached out to stop herself, but Iku only laughed, mingling with the gleeful whispers in her head,

_Keep going, Joselyn, and no one will ever command you again._

Joselyn felt something snap in Kaalki's heart, a breaking of strings.

Kaalki froze. Her mouth stayed open in a silent scream; her lips stained red. Her fingers twitched, but her eyes were glazed. The darkness in Joselyn that took over her mind then vanished in a rush—she collapsed to her knees, suddenly unable to catch her breath and leaned against the wall in exhaustion. She felt like she had returned to her body.

Then she felt something wrong. Very wrong. All the pain she had inflicted upon Kaalki forced itself into Joselyn's own body. She felt the pain she had just inflicted, and she knew she had achieved what she was looking for with how much it hurt. But she knew she deserved it, so she didn't mind all that much. The pain she had forced upon Kaalki as an illusion was things she had done to herself in real life—or attempted with Gizmo stopping her.

She had wanted to hurt Kaalki. To defend herself. To get revenge. To escape. _But I didn't just hurt her. I made sure she would never lift a finger against me or my family._

In her fury, she had taken a life.

Her memory flashed to Iku's words three years ago, and even felt those icy hands on her skin. "Sweet child, you cannot be fully angelic unless you possess the ability to be truly evil; goodness is a choice. It is feeling the power of darkness and walking the other way no matter how painful. It is looking in the mirror with open eyes and learning how to change until you love who you are. Goodness is an exercise in free will; this life will reveal all within you, yet choose wisely the pieces with which you build yourself. All roads back into the light are pain tenfold, your soul a magnifying glass for your guilt. Take heart, be brave, acknowledge and own your capacity for evil—for it is only by the darkness that the brilliance of pure light can shine as a beacon for others."

_Which one are you? Are you good or bad? Light or dark? An angel or a demon?_

Maybe one day she would be that bright light Iku had mentioned so long ago, but for now she knew she was evil. And to her horror, she was perfectly fine with that. Nobody would hurt her friends and family ever again—and now she didn't have any good left which would stop her.

It wasn't long after this revelation that she lost consciousness.

Back to the present

"Where's Jared?" Camille asked. Eli shrugged,

"He went off to try whacking Kahu. He's scary right now, so I didn't bother stopping him. Anyways, we need to worry about Joselyn." Sam smiled,

"I'm not great at it, but I know a couple healing spells. Want me to try?" Camille nodded, and Sam placed a hand on Joselyn's chest right about where her heart was. She opened her eyes a moment later, and then her gaze found Zoe.

"Zoe! What did they...?" Joselyn wriggled out of Camille's grip and hovered near her big sister, who was barely conscious. "I-I did this…"

"Joselyn," Adrien began "don't beat yourself up over this—"

"Excuse me, but is anyone else here the reason Kahu is extremely powerful using my Dad as a vessel?!" Joselyn snapped, "I'm supposed to be _dead_ right now. This is the thing that should happen to _me_, not Zoe..." she added in a shaky whisper "Not her…not Dad…not Jared…"

Adrien, while they had been arguing, used Felix's Babylon candle he was borrowing to whisk them back to the others.

Upon arrival, Felix gasped and ran up to his mother, looking at the healing done. He huffed, knowing nobody in the group was an actual healer, so he took her and rested her on a bed, pointing to the lines forming on her skin "Scars." He said simply "A good healing spell shouldn't leave scars, no matter how grave the injury—" Zoe started coughing, effectively cutting him off.

"Zoe, are you alright?" Amelia asked. Zoe waved her free hand dismissively, her coughing grew increasingly more violent, blood starting to come out of her mouth.

"Dad, is there anything—?" Felix barely had the question out before Eli quickly answered,

"Stab wound, upper chest. And her leg. There's one on her side too—"

Felix wasted no time and wrenched off his mother's jacket and tattered shirt, finding the wounds Eli mentioned had started to re-open. Felix's eyes changed to gold and the injuries healed over, and Zoe slumped, eyes closed and falling into unconsciousness. They all noticed the wound on her leg had not healed, and there was still clear signs of poison spreading through her body.

Gizmo rushed over and poured a red vial of liquid down Zoe's throat, which made the poison vanish almost completely.

"That was poison from the Spears of Gungnir!" Harrison gaped, "How did you—?!" Gizmo smirked,

"Kahu let me study Tikki's body, found traces of the poison and was able to make an antidote. Did you honestly think I would betray the first people I can consider family? Even from an analytical standpoint, betraying you guys is worse than betraying Kahu. Also…" she looked behind her and a little robot appeared on her shoulder. It looked like a small penguin, and it had the same silver and black color scheme as Gizmo's watch, "I was able to create this. It has MurderBot's old file, which I will be putting in a larger vessel eventually. But for now this works. As Kawaii chipmunk has said, magic is just science we don't understand."

"Still," Dausi looked to her sleeping creator, "Her leg will never heal, no matter how much magic we put into it. And we should hook her up to some machines, just in case. Nobody's used an antidote on those spears before, so we don't know how well it will work."

Eli held himself awkwardly, fully aware it was his substandard healing that led to Felix needing to help out. Camille noted her brother's shame, "I admire your willingness to help Zoe, Eli, it's just…this was healing on a level way above yours." She gave an approving nod "Although I will say that you did a remarkably good job."

Eli smiled, but continued to look remorseful. "Um... t-thanks, Cam—and um... can we at least put Zoe's shirt back on? I don't want her exposed in front of all of us."

"I-I think we should." Emilie said, gently helping her stepdaughter into a clean shirt and tucked a jacket around her. Zoe smiled, and muttered "Thanks...Mom..." Emilie looked surprised by the remark, but only ruffled Zoe's hair, "No problem."

Joselyn watched, still frustrated with herself. Sam patted her shoulder "There wasn't anything you could've done." While this clearly didn't satisfy the youngest of the Carpenter sisters, she nodded shifting into her other form, which she decided to name Muerte.

Upon gaining a new name, her form changed from the nightgown and cat mask to something else. She wore a black skin-tight leather suit, and a black cloak with a hood she decoded to keep up. She normally hated the color black, since that was Iku's main color, but she had given up on not being a monster, so she might as well accept it.

Camille looked to her, concern on her face. Still, she didn't say anything until she noticed the distinct lack of her boyfriend.

"I thought Jared would be back by now." The others looked around and noticed two issues.

Jared was nowhere to be found.

And the sound of a flatline filled the small house and they all saw Zoe's heart had stopped beating.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: The day before war**

Eli was frozen as Felix and the other tried everything they could to get Zoe's heart starting again, before giving up and placing a white sheet over her. He tried to move, to use his magic, but it was like his mind was on pause and he lost the ability to act altogether.

He had only silence in his head. Only silence, as he saw his children sobbing and he began screaming. Screaming and screaming and screaming without stop, until his throat was raw and there was a little blood.

The emptiness in his chest, his _soul_ at the lack of that bond. That _life_—

He was shaking her, screaming her name and shaking her, and his body stopped being his body and just became this _thing_ that held him and this lack of her, and he could not stop screaming and screaming—

Then Sam was there. And Joselyn, swaying on her feet and being supported by a shellshocked Adrien. Oh god, Eden didn't know about this and they would have to tell her.

His parents were saying things, but all he could hear was the echoing flatline sound, the moment he had lost her. Eli knew he would rather the entire multiverse _end_ than this, this emptiness where she was, where they were supposed to be together.

Someone was trying to haul him away from her, and he let out a sound that might have been a snarl or another scream, and they let go.

He couldn't live with this, couldn't endure this, couldn't breathe.

There were hands—unknown hands on Zoe's throat—touching her. Eli lunged for them, but someone held him back.

"She's seeing if there is anything that can be done." Felix said, voice raw. He was trying to stay strong for his siblings, but Eli could see that his eldest was devastated. First his wings, now his mother. Eli turned to see who the 'she' was that Felix referred to.

Freya. Lady of the Lake. Guardian of Avalon. Probably a healer. Eli lunged again, to beg her, to plead. He would do literally anything if she would save Zoe.

But she didn't say anything, and that was as much of an answer as any.

"Please," Eli said, and he wasn't sure who exactly he was speaking to. His fingers scraped against Zoe's chest, trying to get to the heart beneath.

Hands wrapped around his own. They were firm yet gentle. He tried to pull away, but they remained strong as Harrison knelt beside his son and said, "I'm sorry, treasure."

It was those two words and the old nickname as a child that shattered Eli completely. Shattered him in a way he didn't know he could still be broken, after everything he had been through. He looked to Zoe again, who was lacking the life that normally radiated off of her. She was paler than usual

_Stay._

Then he felt it as Eden walked into the room. There was no way in hell Eden was going to sit back and let her sister die—after all the shit they had been through, it was out of the question. And in that moment, the true Eden Imelda returned—the gentle healer—as Eli felt the mating bond once more.

_Stay. Stay. Stay. Stay!_

He grasped at the bond, tugged at it, clawing at the void that lurked beyond. He was going to drag her out if it he had to.

Eden looked to him with a bright smile, "She's not giving up on us now." Eli nodded firmly.

"If she does, I'll go down there myself and give her shit for it." Felix looked to his siblings, before placing his hands on his mother's head.

"Okay. Two healers and her mate. Let's go."

The light that shone from the three of them was blinding, everyone else had to look away lest they be blinded.

And after all of that…a thud sounded.

Eli opened his eyes. Another thud. And then Zoe's chest rose and fell a couple times. Eli felt a hand brush his cheek and wipe away his tears.

Zoe groaned, opening her eyes, "If we're all here, either bullshit prevails or I just had a weird ass dream."

Eden's broken laugh cracked out of her and she sobbed, clinging to her big sister.

Eli couldn't move. Couldn't do anything but hold his wife, savoring every breath and heartbeat. But he didn't truly believe it until he looked into those sapphire eyes and knew she was truly alive.

"I…I don't understand…how?" Joselyn breathed, "I know necromancy is a thing, but I don't think…"

"Well, she wasn't completely dead." Morrigan stated matter-of-factly, "Gizmo's cure worked, but it had to stop her heart to drain the poison that had already gotten there. Still, the feat you guys managed in extremely rare, and would be impossible had she been all dead."

"Now," Freya explained, "There is a big difference between _mostly_ dead and all dead. Mostly dead, slightly alive. All dead, and there's really only one thing you can do: scrounge around in their clothes and look for loose change."

"_Princess Bride_?" Zoe asked. Freya nodded,

"Yeah. I'm trying to get into pop-culture. I'm the romance type, so it sounded fun." Zoe smirked and looked at Eli, who smiled while still crying

"Well my love, I guess you're stuck with me a little while longer." Zoe smiled,

"As you wish." Felix turned away from his parents kissing to give them privacy. But Aelin looked to Freya,

"I get the reference, but were you serious about mostly dead and all dead?" Freya nodded,

"Yeah. Why?" Roxas caught on to what his twin was thinking,

"Can a being like Kahu possess a corpse?" That caught the attention of everyone—namely people close to Kelly. Harrison glared darkly at his grandkids,

"NO! We are going to do everything we can to _avoid_ killing Kelly." Zoe tried to sit up, only to gasp in pain. Eden and Eli helped her sit up.

"N-No. They're right. It's a thing that happens in shows and movies with possession. Kind of in _Stranger Things_, I know it happened more or less like what we have to do in _Evil Dead_—"

"For all the people who aren't into horror," Quantic Jared said, "Please explain that." Zoe moved to stand, only fall over from her still unhealed leg.

"Hey hey, stay off that." Eden sat Zoe back down and started putting in stitches—and it was very off-putting for the amnesiac Marinette and anyone who hadn't seen Zoe's impressive tolerance for pain that said person didn't pay any heed to the needle and thread going through her body. Zoe rolled her eyes, proving her ability to heal was astronomical. Though since she was basically resurrected by God's grandson, an entity with powers revolving around healing and light, and the most powerful warlock in the multiverse, the fact she was fine other than a leg injury and being sore was not all that surprising. Her hair was still shorter though.

Zoe shrugged, "Anyway, to translate, we need to make sure Dad's body is not a suitable host for Kahu. In Stranger Things, this meant all things hot and poking with a fire stick. In Evil Dead this meant either a) kill it with fire, b) bury it alive, or c) cut off a limb. The second one is important because that could lead to the vessel losing oxygen, which then she was able to be revived by restarting her heart with an AED. See where I'm going here?"

"Yeah." Connor added on, "But we have to also consider the magical side. Because this isn't a demon possessing a normal human."

"This is a god possessing a mortal turned immortal with deadly mind and reality warping powers." Amelia finished. She clenched her fist, "Kelly used to be mortal. Taking one stone is okay, but two plus a god? That's going to take a toll on his mortal body."

Harrison sat down, running his hands through his hair, thinking of the state his best friend was in right now, "Okay. Kahu has to know how dangerous taking Kelly was, right? Joselyn!" He looked up, "Did Kahu acknowledge anything like that?" Joselyn shook her head,

"It was completely black for me until Jared said my name. That caught my attention. But even then it was blurry. It was completely clear when Kahu left me and entered him." Camille started pacing,

"So Jared is the only one who knows." She said, "Great. And he's so pissed that it's unlikely he will talk."

"Maybe he would if we told him that the information he might see as pointless actually holds a key to killing Kahu." Connor suggested. Aelin brightened,

"Freya! You provided the mind stone power, doesn't that mean you have at least a little of the power?" Freya nodded.

"Yes. But I'll put this in terms I know at least Zoe will understand. Jared is Eleven, I am mediocre."

"Oh wow." Zoe laughed, "He is Eleven—except his hair went from long to cut repeatedly from being burned by Aelin and then back to long after sleeping for a year. Wonder if he's realized that yet. I'll need to tattoo the number on his wrist now. Don't think he'll mind all that much." Eli ruffled her hair,

"Glad to see you have your sense of humor back, my Queen."

Chloe hesitated, "Look…Zoe…I don't want to sound insensitive with what you went through at Kahu's hands…but I have a question about Pollen." The others perked up as well, especially Plagg. Then they realized Plagg didn't know about the fate of his siblings or specifically Tikki.

After a moment of awkward silence, Freya decided to explain since she was in charge of the Fae in the afterlife.

This did nothing to calm Plagg down. His fists were clenched, knuckles white, and a little blood dripped from his palms.

"Plagg?" Amren asked, "Ya good?" Plagg squeezed his eyes shut and stormed out of the little house. Adrien went to follow, but Joselyn stopped him.

"He just learned his sister was dead, and the rest of his siblings completely brainwashed."

Everyone sat in silence and put themselves in Plagg's shoes—while Kagami tried to keep Zoe on her bed and hooked up to the machines, since she kept wriggling out of them.

…

Plagg, however, wasn't going off to stew in his own rage. Yes, he was furious about what happened, but that wasn't why he separated from the group.

It had been mentioned before that the council had fought Kahu. But Plagg had been around longer than even the oldest member—or at least _this_ version of Cradh—so obviously he had been around for it.

He looked around the old town, before coming across the tree which looked to have been split from the top down. He remembered this tree. Six stones were in a ring around it, but all of them were faded. The keys to Iku's prison. Losing even one set her free.

He smiled bitterly, how Tikki had assured him that Iku would never be free. Kahu would never return. And look where that belief got her. Dead by the Spears of Gungnir, meaning she couldn't even find peace in the afterlife since those fuckers were meant to cripple even a spirit.

But, as the old saying goes, yin and yang are equals and opposites. Twins are like that sometimes too. Plagg was the younger twin by a whole five minutes—since a lot of cells died rather quickly until they started adapting, and it didn't help the sun was a deadly laser at the time—but it worked in a sense that while Tikki said no, Plagg said yes.

So he did as much research on the stones—though his research had started back so many years before Iku was in the tree. It started when Kahu was split into Iku and Vita. So only Cradh and Empty would have been around for that—as he could. Never had he genuinely thought he would end up being one of the stone wielders, though he had jokingly played with the idea.

While he didn't know the full function of his own stone since Cradh never brought it up and Plagg doubted he would find out even if he died, he knew the function of literally every other stone, past and present. Yes, the stones changed per council member fueling it.

Morrigan's predecessor, the goddess Hel—like the main antagonist of _Thor Ragnarok_, only not—had one that gave the wielder a mastery over necromancy.

Freya's predecessors—High Priestesses Nimueh, Morgause, and Morgana, not that it mattered since all three of them were killed in the span of ten years by a kid barely out of his teens—had power over the balance, which was resurrecting people properly, creating life, taking lives, stuff like that.

Grim Reaper's predecessor, who Plagg couldn't remember, had power over time.

Fawn's predecessors had control of animals, but Fawn herself had seen that as too predictable and cliche, so reality warping it was.

Empty and Micah's were pretty much the same as they had always been.

The point was he knew what he was dealing with for the most part. He had known about the wings, and the side effects, and all sorts of other things. Another thing he knew was the ability for stone wielders to communicate from long distances.

It wasn't like the mating bond, which was something else entirely, but he would still be able to find Jared and make sure he wasn't off getting murdered. Or at least ask for him to wait in killing Kahu so Plagg himself could get a few hits in. Plagg didn't care if Jared came back dragging Kahu. Get Kahu out of Kelly and then fire away. Blood and thunder.

From last time, Plagg knew Kahu was currently assessing which of the stone wielders was the biggest threat—which was obviously Psychic Jared, good lord—and then see what makes him tick. Who to kill, who to control, will break him enough to make it an easier kill. He didn't care too much about failure and pissing off his target, since he was powerful enough to handle it anyways.

But what confused Plagg was that there had been no personal attack against Jared, since the kwamis could be an attack towards Plagg himself, and destroying Blight would also strongly affect Kagami. Why though? It didn't make sense. Psychic Jared was the only one other than Gizmo and the council to have not been severed from the chain by Zoe, so he was the only one Kahu could even find. It wasn't that he wished harm on Jared, it just didn't make sense.

Of course, it could just be that he's figured out that Jared doesn't break, and just gets pissed. But that wasn't true. While he tried to hide it, Plagg could see that Jared's time locked up in a personal hell had done quite the number on him. He sometimes still got faraway looks and would look at them all like he had done something wrong and didn't want to say anything. And there was the waking up screaming at night. He had also seen Jared look at his now white hair and look terrified for a split second before returning to enraged.

Plagg shook himself. Whatever it was, it didn't matter right now, since he needed to _find_ Jared.

He shut his eyes, thinking about Jared,

_"Jared? Can you hear me?"_

OoOoO

Jared had split off from the group long before. But this was also a large castle and he wasn't actively trying to get caught. Sure, any kwami who passed him was a dead kwami—unless it was Viirus, but that had yet to happen—but he wasn't planning to kill them all. His plan was kill Kahu, and save Viirus.

He did wonder if Zoe would live, but that wasn't his main concern. If it had been Cam or Joselyn, he would be with them in an instant, and go kill Kahu when they were stable. But while Zoe was his friend, they weren't as close as Zoe was to some of the others.

He crept through the halls, looking in each room for Kahu, until he finally found his target in one of the towers. To his shock, Kahu was talking to Kelly in a mirror. Since this wasn't the first time he had seen Kelly stuck in a mirror, he found himself getting slight flashbacks, which led to the memories of meeting Camille for the first time since it was on the same world. But he snapped out of it quickly.

He saw Kahu examine Kelly's robotic arm. Most people forgot he had one with how realistic it looked, but the Nonary Game was not something Jared forgot about and walking in on…someone…who was it again? Anyway, someone dragging Kelly in, lacking an arm and unconscious. He was dully annoyed by not remembering that person.

Wait, why was he so distracted? Five minutes ago had him focusing on nothing but his rage, yet now he could barely think straight. Did Sam slip him one of those pixie dust pills? _That better not be the case, or that archmage is a dead man. _

He checked with his own powers and found a distractor spell on the room. The design was basically to make any possible attacker unable to think clearly…and also prevent anyone in the process of being brainwashed from thinking too much and snapping out of it.

Viirus. It had to be because of Viirus. Kahu just wasn't the type to prepare for an attacker right now.

Jared checked, and sure enough Viirus was there. He was standing in the corner quietly. And it didn't take a mind mage to sense he was different from the other kwamis. Looking in his mind, it was completely blank, which was scary. No memories, no connections, nothing. If Jared hadn't known Viirus for years, he could be mistaken for a total John Doe.

He went back to listening to Kahu and Kelly talk while shaking off the distractor spell. If he was lucky, Kahu would let something slip.

"It truly is a fine piece of tech." Kahu mused, looking at the robotic arm, "But I don't think you need it." His hand took a red glow and the robotic arm turned into a real flesh and blood arm.

Kelly did not seem impressed, "What? Does it look like I care? I had to watch you torture my daughter for hours using my own hands. Might as well destroy the thing that hurt her."

"You're no fun." Kahu taunted. Kelly glared,

"What even motivates you?! I've seen some weird shit, but your lack of motivation other than bitterness at the council is quite odd."

"I suppose it's an unhealthy mix of spite, pettiness, the thirst for vengeance, and pure relentless rage." He put gloves on to conceal the mark on his vessel's wrist, "Besides, Jared has spoiled my plans for the last time."

Kelly scoffed, "Yeah, the last time _today_ maybe."

"No. Because even if I wasn't ready to kill him tomorrow, he took my bait and is right behind me." Jared froze as Kahu turned, "Hello Jared. Are you here to kill me?"

Forcing the last of the distractor spell out of his head, Jared summoned his blade and ran to Kahu, who calmly held up a hand.

"If we're going to do this." They teleported to the dining hall where Jared had found Joselyn when she was possessed, "Might as well have more room."

Jared again attacked, but found his attack was blocked by Viirus. No matter how angry he was, something about seeing his best friend like this, with completely empty eyes, drove him over the edge and made him both parts sad and even angrier. The latter emotion was by far the most dominant, so that was all that showed in his eyes.

His goal was to knock Viirus out, that way he could strike down Kahu and make sure his friend was as close to unharmed as possible.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Kahu had planned for that. "You know, while you could knock him out, he'll wake up seconds later with my powers. Best way to get rid of the puppet is going for the puppet master."

Fair enough. And he had wings, which Viirus didn't unless he was really missing something.

Jared summoned his wings and launched into the air after Kahu, whose wings were different from Kelly's. Unlike the stone wielders, the wings had a more bird-like look to them. Like an angel in comparison to a fairy, since the wings of a stone wielder was basically crystalline. Kahu's wings were black, and looked much like Felix's own wings before they were destroyed, except there was red details from Kelly's power over the garnet.

Even in his rage, Jared knew going for Kahu's wings was the smart decision. However, fighting in the air with wings he hadn't had for even a week was just as hard as it sounded. Especially since Kahu was much faster.

"You can't kill me without the others." Kahu taunted, "So why are you here?" Jared glared and went to make a move to at least injure his opponent when—

_"Jared? Can you hear me?"_

What the—Plagg?!

_"Yeah. It's me. Jared, while I would love for you to beat Kahu into the ground, you need to come back right now. As in right now right now."_

Jared growled, which gave Plagg the answer of "Why would I do that?"

_"I'll explain when you arrive. Get your ass back here now. You can't kill Kahu without us anyway—"_

Jared blocked the connection and went back to the fight.

…

Plagg's eyes widened as the connection was blocked. Either Jared was blocking it or something else was, and neither was good.

He raced back to the shelter, where the others were discussing what to do. He grabbed Freya and Morrigan,

"I need you two. Jared's in danger!" Camille and Joselyn got up too, but Plagg stopped them, "NO. Just these two. Sorry." He grabbed them, "We need to get back to Kahu's castle. Can either of you teleport?" Morrigan raised a hand,

"I can."

And then they were in the castle, watching Jared and Kahu battle while Viirus was watching off to the side. Plagg looked to Freya, who held open her hand and then clenched it.

Jared was auto-killed and fell to the ground.

Kahu looked between the suddenly dead Jared and then Freya, "Are you picking him up? Or are you working with me? At this point I don't care which because I'm tired and have Kelly laughing in my head." He looked at his watch as Plagg and Morrigan grabbed Jared and turned to leave, "Go ahead. I need sleep too, and Jared interrupted me right before I was gonna get some shut eye. I'll meet you and the others there at dawn? Actually nah, too early. How about….11:15?"

Just how casual Kahu was stunned everyone a little bit.

Plagg raised a cynical eyebrow, "Are you seriously scheduling a time to come kill us?"

"Yeah." Kahu answered, "Ambushes aren't my favorite. Besides, formality isn't my thing, but I need an excuse to get my worthless minions up before noon. It's like keeping track of toddlers. So are you going?"

While they all expected him to kill them the moment they turned their backs, they did indeed leave.

Kahu knew not risk it at the moment. While Plagg and Freya were easily handled, Morrigan was the only being to ever come close to being Cradh's equal—something that should never happen for the fate of the multiverse. Messing with her when he was tired was a terrible idea. He wasn't Fae, so he did genuinely need sleep.

…

Viirus looked to the new people as they dragged the strange man away. There was something very…familiar about him. But he didn't recognize him.

His master simply shrugged, "Don't you mind him. Tomorrow I will kill them. Tonight, I am tired of dealing with you all and need sleep."

For some reason, Viirus didn't think killing the strange man was right. But he only took orders from his master, so that was what had to happen.

OoOoO

Jared woke up and found himself completely unable to move.

He tried to move, but found that while he could very clearly see and feel his body, he couldn't get it to work. And his limbs were so cold they burned.

Plagg sighed in relief, "Glad to see you awake." At this point, Jared had realized what was going on and was trying even harder to get back to the battle he had with Kahu, his eyes getting even brighter red to the point nobody could even look at him.

Nobody except Plagg. "Okay. Jared, I know talking makes you angrier. But you need to _listen_. You powers and limbs will not work since Freya has you under the auto-kill for everything except your head so you don't get away." He sat down, "When it comes to Viirus, I've seen that spell before. We need to free Viirus before we kill Kahu. Because Viirus is only capable of following orders. Without the puppet master, the puppet will no longer work. So Viirus will be unable to move, function, or maybe even breathe." Everyone froze at that revelation.

"Alright." Joselyn started, "Step one: figure out how to free Viirus. Any ideas?" Plagg brightened,

"Actually, I do. Han, your powers are over sleep. Not just consciousness. You can put things to sleep and awaken things—like memory. Viirus is strong, very much so. He just needs a spark of memory. Hell, for all we know he just needs someone to say his name."

Quantic Jared started pacing, "Okay. Big warrior guy who can kill us, we need to say his name or awaken his memory."

"Alright. Anything else you're hiding from us?" Kagami asked. Plagg nodded,

"You can literally cause natural disasters." He gestured to Quantic Jared, "You have ability to use nuclear power." The look on his face was priceless. Plagg looked to Hana, "You can literally change a person by making certain traits dormant. You could probably fix Joselyn by putting to sleep any depression and waking up the joy in her life. That one would take years of training to master though." He looked to Psychic Jared, "If you came into your full power, you could turn the entire gods damn multiverse into your willing slaves. Or kill everyone. Though there are worse things you could do."

"The Worldsoul." Zoe exhaled, remembering the horror stories she had learned about that, "Fortunately, we know to avoid that. Wait…could Totem Armor count as the sixth stone? Dad is the sixth stone wielder, the Garnet is who knows where. So unless I'm right, we're screwed."

"Well…" Grim Reaper started pacing, "It would make sense. Or Morrigan could finally make her stone."

"I told you I'm not ready for that." Morrigan snapped, "I don't even know which power to put in it. Cradh already did deathtouch, and since mine _never_ turns off and I _still_ have to wear gloves, I don't wish it on anyone. I guess I could grant soul restoring powers—my singular ability associating with life-giving instead of life-taking."

"It should work." Empty confirmed, "Assuming, Jared, you know how to use it." Amelia nodded,

"I gave him that book on everything involving Totem Armor back when I was resurrected."

"_That's_ where my book went?!" Freya groaned, "I was reading that, and it was probably on the Quantic World or Blight, and now countless years of research is down the drain." Her gaze rested on Eli for the first time, really looked at him. Eli noticed this,

"You okay?" She shook herself,

"Yeah. You just…remind me of someone. Thought you were him for a moment." Amelia looked between Freya and her son,

"A friend?"

"Yes. From a long time ago." She shook herself, "It's nothing."

"Anyway." Eden mused, "Back to questions. Jared, when Kahu switched from Joselyn to Dad, did he say anything about how Dad's body might not be able to handle all that power?"

Jared did not want to be talking, and would rather be stabbing Kahu. But if these questions helped Viirus, it was tolerable. "No."

"That's not good." Morrigan said, "But there is no way Kahu doesn't know. If he didn't then, he definitely does by now. He has to be somehow balancing that power so it doesn't overwhelm Kelly. Psychic Jared is the only one of the stone wielders to have his powers healthily, like they should be given: over time. That way his body was literally remade while he slept so it could adapt to having that power. Kelly had that partially, but then just had the reality power forced upon him, same as the other wielders did."

"Wait what?" Joselyn looked to Psychic Jared, "Remade?"

"Yeah. He might look the same, but his body was literally remade. Blood, bones, skin, veins, all of it. Maybe even his DNA. For all one would know from a test, it's Jared's soul in a completely different body, even if he looks the same. Any humanity you had, Jared, is completely gone. You are a magical creature through and through." Jared didn't seem too bothered by this, but the other stone wielders excluding Plagg were very curious about this.

"So he's an actual magical creature," Kagami asked, "But we're still human?"

"Well," Micah shrugged, "Plagg is High Fae, and Hana is a Shadow Charmer—which also turns her into a magical creature by default since it's a power granted by demons and phantoms. No Hana, the hellhounds will not come for you. You didn't make a deal for your powers, and were simply granted them." Hana sighed in relief.

"Though…she might be able to _command_ hellhounds with her Shadow Charmer abilities." Empty said happily, "And if she dies, the demon who Made her could easily resurrect her as a demon. Just imagine the power a demon would have with my stone!" Eli looked to his best friend,

"Seriously Han?! I thought you were normal other than being invisible in shadows!"

"I did too!" She glared at Empty and pointed an accusing finger, "No killing me! I finally scored and am not ready to be a demon." Empty just shrugged, taking Hana's form but with completely black eyes, almost identical to Iku's eyes—which implied Iku was some sort of demon instead of Enchantress.

"You sure?"

"YES!"

"Okay!" Zoe growled, "1) Can we get back to planning? 2) SOMEONE GET THIS FUCKING PHOENIX EYE CUFF OFF ME!" They all realized in that moment that she still had that cuff digging into her skin. And she had been healed…shit.

Eden sat down next to her sister, "Alright…Han…I need you to unlock the cuff. Your sword is literally a key that can lock and unlock anything in the multiverse. Eli, hold Zoe's other hand. This will really hurt since we accidentally healed the spikes into her flesh." Eli didn't hesitate to hold her hand and Hana summoned her blade.

The guard appeared to be two shooting stars. The blade itself was blue and decorated with stars, while the end was a crescent moon and star. It seemed to reference the moon and stars imagined in children's lullabies, which fit with her power over sleep.

A beam of sapphire light shot out of the blade and the cuff unlocked. Zoe squeezed Eli's hand while Eden removed the cuff—which had spikes that had healed into her wrist.

It was a rather graphic sight as Eden slowly removed the cuff. Zoe bit down on leather and had tears in her eyes, her wrist was a horrific bloody mess. And since the spikes had hit an artery in the wrist, they had to work quickly in healing her before she bled to death. As Felix had said, a good healing spell doesn't leave scars; so while this injury could have cost her her hand, it didn't even show when Eden was done with it.

Zoe sighed in relief once her wrist was healed, "I'm fine, guys." She frowned at the far from convinced looks and sat up from where she had been leaning on Eli, "Seriously, I'm perfectly fine now."

Truthfully, she felt hollow, weak, and tired as hell. Not to mention the trauma still fresh in her mind and felt on her body. She knew it wasn't her Dad who had been ordering her to be hurt, but seeing that face, those eyes that Kahu would change to blue just to get in her head…it was hard. But she had learned how to cover these feelings up over the years, to keep pushing onward. She didn't want _anyone_ worrying about her.

(She could tell Psychic Jared knew she was lying, but she also knew he was too angry at Kahu and everyone for stopping him to possibly give a damn.)

Zoe struggled to stand, and Adrien walked over to help. When she was successfully standing, he still supported her.

"Okay, you can let go of me, I can still walk." Adrien raised an eyebrow and smirked,

"Oh really? If you say so." He then let go of Zoe, who proceeded to wobble, then fall onto her knees. "Now what was that about walking on your own?" Zoe gave her stepbrother an annoyed glare, but chuckled anyways,

"Adrien, don't be a prick."

Adrien shrugged, "You're the one who didn't want to be smothered with TLC."

Zoe went from her knees to a cross-legged sitting position—wincing at the pain in her leg as she pulled on the stitches—and she threw her hands up in defeat "Fine, fine. I'm _not_ okay by your standards. Feel free to treat me like a Queen now—not you Eli, you do that anyways." She then put her hands behind her head and laid down, looking smug.

"We're not gonna treat you like a Queen, Zoe." Sam said, sounding exasperated yet amused by his childhood best friend's antics.

"Well from my perspective you are!" Zoe snapped, suddenly sounding annoyed "Even after being fixed up _thrice_ you guys can't seem to accept the fact I'm okay!" She then took a deep breath, "Sorry, I just don't like seeing my friends so worried about me."

"I think anyone would be worried about you right now, Mama." Roxas stated "I wouldn't be surprised if you lost a gallon of blood back there from what Uncle Adrien told us, and not to mention any mental problems you might—"

"I'M FINE, GODDAMNIT!" Zoe yelled. She then blinked, realizing who she just yelled at. Roxas was looking at her with tears in his eyes. "Oh shit... R-Roxas I'm—"

"T-That was uncalled for." Roxas sounded betrayed. Aelin placed an arm around her twin's shoulder, "C'mon Roxy, Mama didn't mean to yell. She was just getting a little stressed from the attention, that's all."

Roxas looked conflicted. Zoe stood, and before anyone could come over to help, she gently wrapped her arms around Roxas and Aelin, and whispered "I'm sorry, sugar. I really am."

Roxas leaned his head against his mother's chest, hearing her heart beat weaker than normal, but still steadily. He closed his eyes, finding the sound to be more reassuring and comforting than words. "Okay. Just don't ever do that again."

He then found that Zoe was leaning against him a lot more than she should've been. "Um, Mama?"

"Sorry, I'm just really tired." Indeed, she sounded exhausted.

Joselyn sighed, crossing her arms, "We've wasted enough time already, we can't wait on Zoe any longer—"

Eden walked up to her big sister, gently peeled her away from Roxas, and hoisted the protesting woman onto her back. "I can carry her." She said, although the words were strained from effort.

"Eden you don't have to—!" Zoe exclaimed, sounding annoyed once again. Upon being ignored, she huffed, then slid herself off of Eden's back. "If you wanna help me, you're going to help me walk. I'm a warrior, not a damsel, 'kay?" Eden then shook her head, and wrapped Zoe's arm around her shoulder, her other arm wrapping itself around Zoe's waist to keep her supported.

"Fine, if you keep insisting on exhausting yourself to the point of death."

Eli walked over and put Zoe's other arm around his shoulders. He didn't say a word, but it was clear he wasn't going to let his wife think she wasn't supported.

Zoe looked between the two of them, "M'kay then, is everyone satisfied that I'm not gonna randomly pass out?"

Nods from everyone. Though the worried looks didn't cease.

Zoe rolled her eyes, then took a step forward, Eli and Eden following in perfect step "Then let's get going, Kahu has been waiting long enough for us to kick his ass."

"11:15 tomorrow." Freya said, "Bastard literally scheduled a time." Camille gaped,

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope." Zoe sent her an incredulous look,

"Seriously?! Well fuck this, I'm laying down until then. Also, Jos…you okay? Your eyes…" Joselyn's eyes had changed. She wasn't even in her Muerte form, but her normally blue-violet eyes had changed to silver. But the silver in Joselyn's eyes seemed to swirl like smoke under glass.

"Oh." Morrigan looked at Joselyn, "She came into her full powers. It happens sometimes, but appearance changes outside of just her 'final form'. So she just has fancy silver eyes now." The color really did suit her.

Gizmo cracked her knuckles, "Okay. Adrien, Catra, Hugo, Emma. You guys keep watch since you are pure Fae, or at least Fae enough that you don't sleep. The rest of us are sleeping now. Plagg, at least try. I know you're Fae, but you will be working pretty hard."

"One more thing." Zoe said, "Morrigan? Kahu kept calling me Chainbreaker. What does that mean?" Morrigan sucked in a breath,

"Well…it comes from your heritage. You have the power of Dark and Destruction, Eden has Light and Animation—bringing things to life, not like animated movies—and Joselyn…has Death, but not in the typical sense. You, Zoe, have the power to break the chain of existence, the thing Jared and Kelly use to enter people's minds. You severed everyone from the chain during the explosion, including herself—only people not severed were Kelly, Psychic Jared, and Joselyn. So Kahu literally cannot find or control anyone else."

"Sweet!" Emilie cheered. Dausi sighed,

"I wish. But…there is a price for that. Being severed basically severs us from existence. So if we die…nobody will remember us by the end of the hour. There wouldn't be enough 'us' to remember. Any documents or photos will still exist, but personal memories will vanish." Everyone was horrified by that, especially Quantic Jared.

"It's already happened." Freya said, "With your father, Gavin, Adrien and Elaine—Gabriel Agreste. He was killed and forgotten. Since he was killed by the Spears of Gungnir, he's currently in a vegetative state even as a spirit." Adrien, Gavin, and Elaine all gasped and looked to each other. None of them had personal memories, but they were still enraged Kahu killed their father. Elaine shifted into her pure Fae form once again.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Elaine." Plagg said, "But we fight in the morning. For now you must sleep." Elaine huffed and got comfortable.

Kagami looked to Micah, "We just learned less than an hour ago that we have extra powers we didn't know about. Don't we get any time to practice!?" Grim Reaper smiled—or they assumed he smiled since they couldn't see his face, but his body language seemed to suggest he was smiling.

"When the time comes, you will know what to do. For tonight, sleep."

Zoe nodded, "Okay, I need to go over the plan first. Free Viirus by using Jared's familiarity and Hana's sleep powers. Find the way Kahu is keeping all that power balanced and fuck it up. Kahu leaves, and the five stone wielders plus Psychic's Totem Armor blow him to hell. We also have to battle the other kwamis. Avoid killing, but it isn't out of the question."

"I'll go get swords laced with Faebane for anyone who wants or needs it." Freya said, vanishing. Eden nodded,

"Sounds like a plan. Now we sleep."

Most tried to sleep, but only the exhausted Zoe truly slept—and even she didn't sleep well. Hana used her powers to help/force her fellow stone wielders to sleep.

Harrison and Amelia didn't even try. They sat on the roof of the fallen church, similar to what they would do as teens.

"Kels is gonna be okay. Right?" Amelia looked to her saddened husband when he asked this. She held his hand,

"Relax Harry. You know him. He's probably making Kahu's existence hell. I wouldn't be surprised if Kahu arrives tomorrow not in Kelly's body because Kels just made him too miserable to bear. You and I both know he's too much of a stubborn asshole to succumb." Harrison laughed,

"True enough." He sighed, "I should have talked to Tazri before this. I don't even know if she's alive."

"You doubt it?" Amelia asked, "I still remember Tazri being seconds away from successfully saving you from a team of witches _singlehandedly_. I will bet you she wasn't even bothered by the mutual killing, got out, and is wondering if you are okay. Know what? I am going to find her after this. Track her down. You know Kelly will help." She looked down and managed to catch a glimpse of Eli and Camille trying to sleep, and subconsciously shielding their respective lover.

"I know neither of us were really there for them…" Harrison said, "And I can't help but be proud of them for becoming the amazing people they are now, all without us. Probably get it from you." He smiled to where Amelia had her head on his shoulder, "But seriously though after all of this, you, me, Kels, and Tazri…we're going somewhere for a week. Relive the good old days."

"What good days?" She asked jokingly. Harrison chuckled,

"True. But there was a time. Right before you got pregnant with Eli and Camille, where everything was perfect. Even after we lost Cam, the three years we had with Eli were pretty great too." He hesitated, "I won't lose you and Kels again, Mia. While I know I wouldn't do anything stupid, I can't outlive you _again_."

"Oh Harry," she taunted, "I died for our child. Not a car crash. I'm still going to outlive you as long as our children aren't involved." She ruffled his hair, "Get some sleep. You need it more than I do."

Harrison smiled, then went back down to the others and did just that.

**A/N: Peace is over, Zoe is alive….and now it's time to kill people. I have a good idea of who y'all want me to keep alive, whether I will use that for evil will not be known until next chapter.**

**Remember to review! **


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: I have rewritten parts of this like five times and finally decided "fuck it, this works."**

**Chapter 31: What should have been the final boss fight**

Because Kahu was planning on arriving at 11:15am, the team woke up at dawn—6:11am from what Eli's phone said. Plagg was once again explaining more things he had hidden from the other stone wielders.

Meanwhile, Hana had summoned a hellhound. Eli was starting to wonder if this was a _Good Omens_ situation and Hana was the Antichrist mixed up at birth. But she was still a good person for now, and he was just glad she wasn't evil.

Her hellhound looked relatively like a normal black labradoodle puppy, other than the glowing red eyes. She named the puppy Ramsey and spent her time molding her shadows into sticks to play fetch with her dog. Zoe ended up sitting next to her, getting lessons from Hana on using her own dark powers.

Plagg was still explaining, "Another thing is…have any of you noticed the mark on your bare right shoulder?" At his question, everyone including Psychic Jared checked their shoulder and saw a mark in a color corresponding with their respective stone. The mark itself was a triskelion, a Celtic symbol.

"Yeah, I see it." Kagami mused, "I didn't even notice it until now."

"We we have had more pressing matters." Plagg assured, "And how often does anybody look at their bare shoulder? Hell, psychic, Camille is the one who would have seen that before you did."

"It's true." Camille mused, "Never thought much of it." Psychic Jared didn't gift them with a response.

"Anyway," Plagg went back to the main topic, "Use your left hand and smack it." Now they were all confused, but obeyed.

There were five flashes of light, and then all five stone wielders were coated in armor. Though it wasn't mainly the color of their stone. It was mostly silver, with the occasional accent with their color. Hana's wasn't silver—even though it was the same material—and instead black in those areas.

"Wow!" Quantic Jared looked a the armor—which didn't weigh anything, and was tight yet mobile—"What's this stuff made of?"

"Mythral." Micah said, "Kind of like titanium, but lighter, more durable, and enchanted to deflect magic." Gizmo brightened.

"I used enhanced titanium for my own outfit!" She gestured to her robot-penguin kwami, and it turned into a disk and entered her watch, which set off a transformation much like Iron Man changing into his suit in Infinity War, except spreading from the wrist instead of the chest.

The suit was much like the armor the stone wielders wore, but had a style to it that the top was a skintight metal dress, while below was leggings and boots. The main colors were silver and navy blue. Still armor, but had a more casual look to it. It did show that she was growing from a girl's body to a young woman with the visible curves. Her long black hair was in a braided ponytail, but the metal band at the end suggested she could unleash it all whenever she chose.

"Awesome!" Hana looked herself over, "I don't know about you guys, but this is amazing!"

Psychic Jared looked the armor over, seemingly to be equally impressed. But they couldn't use their normal tactic of checking his emotions since rage towards Kahu was the only thing his eyes showed.

Adrien and Eli were spending this time giving the kids some fighting tactics.

Zoe was doing what she could not to exhaust herself, and Sam was helping her walk and get used to walking on stitches.

Joselyn was off brooding somewhere, and Gizmo went off to find her before she went into true brooding mode.

Emilie, Alya, Nino and Chloe were worrying about having to fight their kwami friends—and the little thing about them not having magic without a Miraculous.

Dausi and Connor were helping Marinette relearn how to use her witch powers.

Elaine was a ball of pure Fae rage, and Gavin was trying to calm her down.

Harrison, Amelia, and Camille were sparring together to prepare. Camille found herself shocked that her father could hold his own, even with his own issues.

The stone wielders were planning.

The Death council went back to the council room and reported to Judge and Cradh—the latter of which not caring all that much. But it was good that Cradh wasn't getting involved. If he was, that meant the situation was extremely dire. But what was strange was that the council had read in files that Cradh had almost needed to wield Willbreaker the last time Kahu came to power, so what was the difference now?

Turns out from extensive magical research, the reason for this was _coffee_. No seriously. Apparently Kelly had enough foresight to have given himself a literal coffee addiction, and then made sure to be going through withdrawal around the time he got possessed so Kahu would take those symptoms—which were fatigue, anxiety, irritability, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, drowsiness, brain fog, and flu-like symptoms with muscle aches. All of those were things that would come to a _huge_ disadvantage for Kahu, even with the phenomenal power Kelly brought to the table.

Morrigan laughed when she heard this, "Kelly, you crafty bastard." She could just imagine Kahu's suffering at the hands of Kelly's love of black coffee. No cream and sugar either, which was even more salt on the wound.

Well, that made her and the rest of the council less worried. They still knew it would take a lot of power to kill Kahu, but at least the brain fog would make things easier. Morrigan and Freya had seen the drowsiness firsthand and knew Kelly's evil plan was working like a charm.

(Empty had suggested that Kelly had just started drinking coffee due to exhaustion of having three magical kids and like a million jobs in his youth including President of the fucking United States, but Morrigan knew he would have found an alternative and he was too much of a tactician to have not seen this shit coming from a thousand miles away.)

So they reported to the stone wielders, who were both parts relieved and exasperated.

"Well that's a relief." Hana said, with Ramsey still running around her feet. Zoe nodded,

"Dad told me once that coffee would stop the apocalypse. I thought he was just trying to get my three-year-old self to get him coffee so he didn't have to get up. Never thought he was serious." Eden looked to the stone wielders,

"I don't care if you hate it, we need to get you all addicted. And I won't hear any of that bullshit about it stunting growth. It doesn't, and even if it did, Psychic Jared needs to chill with the growing." It seemed that since her trauma of her time with Vita was fading, her pre and post Vita personalities were fusing into one. So she was a bit sassier than normal, but went about it from a more logical sense.

Joselyn appeared from a corner of the room, as she had been using her illusions to hide from Gizmo,

"I used to eat damned souls for breakfast, but black coffee? Hell no!" Grim Reaper chuckled at that. Then Eli's phone—the singular surviving cellphone since Zoe's battery wasn't charged—started buzzing that they had ten minutes until Kahu arrived.

The team all got up. They had taken time to joke about introducing Psychic Jared in a helicopter with badass music in the background. But sadly they had no access to the former since while Eli could make things out of dirt, helicopters were not one of the things he could make. It was moments like this especially that they wished Kelly was here, so they could make that happen. Still, they were going to go for as dramatic as possible.

Psychic Jared and Joselyn were already far ahead. Jared wasn't happy that Joselyn was coming with, but there was no stopping her and he was too enraged towards Kahu to say anything.

Plagg took the time to summon his blade, which was comprised of two thin bat-like wings extending downward. A chain-like design ran up the length of the blade.

They were on a more open plain by the time Kahu showed up. Judging by the bags under his eyes, all of them saw exactly what Morrigan meant by Kelly's trick working marvelously well.

Zoe, Eden, and Joselyn had shifted into Heartless, Tenshi, and Muerte respectively.

At the request of Amelia—who didn't want to risk losing her twin sister again—the council stayed out of the fight and just watched. They would only get involved if the team _really_ needed help.

Kahu didn't say a word. When Psychic Jared ran at him, he simply raised a part of the ground into a mountain. The remaining kwamis—excluding Blazze and Viirus—went to attack the others.

Heartless looked to Eli, "Do it. Make sure to aim at Sass and Fluff." Eli nodded, deciding to start this fight strong. They had the numbers and the power, but the time travel abilities of those two kwamis needed to be handled very early on.

Eli leapt into the air and aimed, "Zettaflare!" He released that same power he had used on Regina all those years ago. Only this time he pushed as much power as he could into it. While this would cause him to risk burning out in the first thirty seconds of the fight, dealing with the time travelers was a greater risk, so killing them was a first.

While they wanted to save as many of the kwamis as they could, they knew there were some things that couldn't be avoided, such as this.

While Eli didn't collapse or anything, he spat out some blood. He knew he had to be careful with how he used his magic from then on out, because it could get dangerous for him.

He looked to Heartless, "It's done, my Queen. Go after Jared, and be careful on your leg." He smiled, "Kind of like last time. Jared's off doing our dirty work." Heartless laughed,

"Yeah, but I'm not heavily pregnant and in labor this time. So I have no excuse other than my leg." Heartless ran up the mountain after her friends and youngest sister. She had to be careful on her leg, knew she wouldn't be able to walk like this without her Heartless transformation and Felix's magic support, and suspected she would need a cane for a while if not the rest of her life. But, it could be worse.

…

The field was at this point a blood-drenched mud pit. Barkk had used a sort of pack-based power to gather an army of lesser Fae, so there was an actual fight to be had here. Bodies gleamed in the morning sun, and the bee kwami was watching from a ledge above.

Camille chose the leader as her opponent.

She ditched her tall shield for a round one strapped across her back, crafted from the same ebony metal. Then she launched into a run.

Tenshi could have sworn even Psychic Jared paused from where he was flying up the mountain to watch as Camille cut her way through those enemy soldiers, aiming for Barkk—who realized what and who was coming for her and started searching for a better weapon.

It was in this moment that anyone watching realized Camille had been born for this—these fields, this chaos and brutality and calculation.

She didn't stop moving, seemed to know where every opponent fought both ahead and behind, seemed to breathe in the flow of the battle around her. If she slammed her shield into a soldier, her other arm was already swinging a sword at the next opponent.

While Tenshi was keeping the kwamis away from the mountain—away from the stone wielders—she still couldn't take her eyes off her sister-in-law. She had never seen anything like it, that skill and precision. It was like a dance. Her eyes didn't stray from Camille's death-dance.

Three soldiers were brave or stupid enough to try to charge Camille, who had them down and dying with four maneuvers.

"Holy mother of god." Tenshi breathed, and noticed Harrison smiling with pride next to her.

"That's my girl. Or more Amelia's girl." He then jumped into the fight from the other side and dropped some bombs to take out more of the enemies. Tenshi was still stunned while watching Camille, who now had no enemies between her and Barkk.

Barkk threw a spear. It flew fast and sure, and Tenshi's heart skipped a beat as it spiraled towards Camille.

Camille's knees bent, shield twisting—

She took the spear in the shield with an impact Tenshi could have sworn she heard, then sliced off the shaft and kept running.

Within a heartbeat, Camille had sheathed both shield and sword across her back. Tenshi would have asked why, but Camille had already picked up another fallen spear and hurled it, her entire body going into the throw, the movement so perfect that it was worthy of being painted.

The entire army seemed to stop at the throw as, even with distance, Camille's spear hit home.

It went right through Barkk's chest, so hard it knocked the commander off her ledge. By the time she was done falling, Camille was there. Her sword, Oathkeeper, was caught in the sunlight as it lifted and plunged down.

She had picked her mark well, as the survivors in the army blinked out of their trance and fled off that world and back to their homes.

Tenshi sighed in relief and turned back to the stone wielders, who were flying up the mountain—but were having trouble with falling rocks which could be blamed on Stompp.

…

Psychic Jared gaped as he flew, having seen Camille act as a one woman army. His rage towards Kahu was the only thing keeping the blood in his head.

Hana smirked, "If you don't marry her, you stupid prick, I will."

Psychic Jared couldn't respond before he and the others all swerved away from each rock, but only he and Plagg were the more experienced fliers. Quantic Jared took to turning the falling bounders into rubber—which Grim Reaper had taught him to do—so it wouldn't be as bad to be hit.

This tactic was working really well, with Muerte and Heartless jumping from ledge to ledge in favor of flying.

But, like all good things, it had to end.

This particular thing ended by Jaay grabbing hold of the back of Quantic Jared's head, and freezing him solid.

"Jared!" Hana shouted as Jaay smirked and dropped him. If he hit the ground…

Hana dove after him and caught him moments before he shattered. She held him and tried to find a pulse. But she could see his eyes moving, so at least he was alive.

She looked around, and saw Aelin doing battle alongside Roxas against Roari. Nobody was paying too much attention to her at the moment, so she got up,

"AELIN, I NEED YOUR HELP!"

Aelin turned from the fight and seemed to use some sort of twin telepathy with Roxas to get Roari away so she could slip to Hana.

"Ya?"

"Thaw him!" Aelin looked to Quantic Jared, and her eyes widened,

"Oh. Wow. Uh…" her hands started glowing with the flame granted to her by her mother, and placed them onto the frozen young man. The ice slowly started to thaw, but not fast enough. Though Hana knew forcing Aelin to go faster could hurt her friend, and she didn't want to risk that.

"I can help." They both turned and saw Alexa. Her hair was down and in her face, making her look more like Zoe than one would expect. She bent down beside Aelin, "Focus, pyromancer. Too much will hurt him, but same with not enough."

"Neat trick." They both turned and saw Trixx standing there, "But you aren't getting up that mountain that easily." Hana growled, shielding both Quantic Jared and Aelin with her shadows. Trixx did not seem impressed,

"You four think you have some grand role to play? You're only here to provide an example for what happens to those who go against Lord Kahu. Who wants to go first?" Quantic Jared sneered with a hatred nobody thought possible of him—though he was probably in a lot of pain in that given moment, so that made sense.

"Shut up!" Hana had to agree with him, as Ziggy joined Trixx. She got up, ordering Ramsey to her side and summoned her blade, called Starlight, and ran at the two.

It wasn't long before Aelin was done thawing Quantic Jared, who spent a moment moving his still cold limbs.

Normally Hana would have let this coming fight happen, but she wasn't in the mood for a fair fight today. Alexa didn't seem in the mood either. The young witch smirked,

"Go back up. I can handle this."

"Nah." Hana shrugged as Quantic Jared struggled to stand with Aelin's help, "I think my friend needs my help. His wings are too delicate right now to fly." She smirked, "Aelin, get him somewhere where his wings can thaw and dry. There aren't enough ledges to get up that mountain unless you have ultimate jumping power."

Aelin nodded, "Gotcha." She helped Quantic Jared away, and Hana looked back to him as he left,

"Don't think any differently of me after this, okay? It's still the idiot who guessed eggs for an ancient riddle." He didn't seem to understand why she would remind him of that, until she unleashed her dark side against her enemies.

She had shifted to accommodate her dark side before, when protecting Amhar back in Africa—the infant was being protected, though Hana didn't know by whom.

Heartless let her dark side be shown as beauty, and while yes, Hana's demon form could be seen as beautiful, it was also something inhuman and terrifying. Adding in her newfound power over sleep made it even worse.

She was roaring—in victory and rage and pain.

Quantic Jared could have sworn he saw great, burning wings, each feather a blue ember. Could have sworn a crown of incandescent dark energy floated just above her flaming hair.

She paused. The thing that had hidden inside Hana paused. She looked at everything—at the battlefield with their friends and family still fighting on it.

As if to assure him, that it was still her. She was just in a different body.

It was in this moment that the kwamis realized just how screwed they were if any of these people could suddenly transform.

Then a shockwave erupted over the land.

Standing above was Kahu, who held up a glowing red hand.

They all saw that the fallen members of the army—which was about half—as well as any who had died on this land before got up and started fighting again.

Necromancy. Kahu as using his reality warping as a form of necromancy.

And then the worst thing happened.

Kahu didn't take any drain from doing this, as he cupped his hands and created a glowing beam of energy which blasted into a good section of the battlefield. There was no way anyone hit by that would live.

Quantic Jared looked to Aelin, "I would rather not be fighting, but my wings need to heal so I can get back up there. They mainly need to dry, right?" Aelin nodded, and he got up, "Might as well fight."

…

Felix saw the moment Kahu decided to get actively involved in this fight, and just barely ripped Catra and Emma away from getting hit.

The rays continued to fire around, and Danielle looked to her big brother.

"W-What is that?" She asked, "Is it as strong as you?" Felix hesitated. Those rays were going to wipe them out if nobody did something.

That begged the question. Could a Nephilim do something? Empty had mentioned he was the son of an archangel, and Nephilim were supposed to become more powerful than the angel who sired them…

He decided to risk it. He had more to lose from not trying than he did from trying.

He ran out into the battlefield and let his power loose.

A pillar of flame that did not burn erupted out of him, slamming into the sky, turning the world into red and orange and gold. Zombies and friends alike stumbled back, falling on their asses as they gawked upward in terror and wonder.

Higher, that column of flame swirled, a whirlpool of death and life and rebirth.

"Holy mother of god," Danielle breathed, moving her foot and kicking a little pebble, which created a landslide that wiped out at least a two-hundred enemies.

Still Felix's magic poured into the world. Still he burned hotter, wilder. His teeth were gritted, head arched back as he panted, eyes shut.

_"__Felix,"_ Amhar—who also jumped in age, and now looked roughly five—warned telepathically, brave enough to approach him. The pillar of flame began expanding, laced now with blue and turquoise. Flame that could melt bone, crack the earth.

Too much. He had given too much of himself to this power. He wasn't burning away his soul like his biological cousin had done a couple years prior, but he had delved too deep into his power.

Through the flames encasing them, Amhar glimpsed the frantic enemies, now hurling themselves into motion of flee, to get out of range.

Felix's ongoing display wasn't for them, however. It was for Kahu, for that bastard to know he was no longer afraid of the power he had been born with. No matter who his biological parents were, he was a Sommers…a Carpenter. And that meant _nobody_ fucked with his family and got away with it.

_"__Felix,"_ Amhar called again, trying to tug the Nephilim's attention. He didn't know that if it weren't for his heritage, he too would have been consumed by the flames.

But there was nothing as Felix's eyes opened. Amhar could feel the roiling, molten core of magic within the young man. Felix had plunged into that power, bathed in it.

Amhar tried to move, tried to scream at him to stop—

Kahu, eyes wide with what could either be terror or awe, fired a ray directly at Felix.

Felix heard that. And as violently as it had pierced the sky, that pillar of fire shot down, shot back down into _him_, coiling and wrapping inside him, fusing into a kernel of power that sent Kahu's ray back at him.

If that blow actually managed to kill Kahu, Amhar couldn't see—though Kahu was a good mile above ground, and it was only the enhanced vision he had that allowed him to see Kahu at all—but he did see all that flame wink out as Felix fell to his knees, drained from what he just did. But, like Eli using Zettaflare, he just seemed tired and not burned out.

Aelin gawked, "Awesome! Bro, you gotta teach me how to do that!" Felix got up, wincing at the pain in his still-bound wings.

"Thanks Amhar…for…pulling me back…I would have gone farther…" Amhar smiled, not saying anything, and Hugo helped support the shaking child while the other kids joined the fight.

…

Quantic Jared was abandoned by Aelin moments after Felix let loose. He had to admit that, while he was scared out of his mind at the power that seemingly normal teenager possessed, he did want to test that, see his limits—not in a way that would hurt him though.

Gizmo was next to him, using her blasters to keep zombies back. She also had a couple enemies in her hair being ripped apart.

Alexa was there too, battling Trixx still. Quantic Jared himself was battling Wayzz.

It took a little bit, but he did figure out how to split atoms and use nuclear power. He occasionally sent an explosion towards the zombies to blow them up, and went back to his fight with Wayzz.

The power even shattered a magical shield. Thankfully, while his own knowledge on combat was limited, Wayzz relied on his shields.

Quantic Jared looked to his blade and smiled, grateful the thing was able to guide him. He wasn't sure if it was the weapon itself, or Grim Reaper acting through it, but as he blocked another blow to his head, he really didn't care.

Unlike the others, he still had reluctance with killing the kwamis—seeing as they were good people, just brainwashed—so he simply smacked Wayzz upside the head, knocking him unconscious. Then he trapped him in a prison of Dyneema.

"Alex? Gizmo?" Both looked from their respective fight, "Make sure he doesn't break free. My wings are strong enough to get up there." He looked up to where Hana was absolutely dominating with her crazy powers, then to where Plagg was airborne and trying to keep some harpies away from Muerte. Psychic Jared was assisting the fight, using Brightcrest and a Faebane-laced broadsword.

Quantic Jared nodded to himself. Yes. This was right. If not for the multiverse, than for Kaylee.

He flew up to them and turned a harpy into aluminum and let it fall to the ground. Plagg panted, because he was clearly not used to flying and fighting at the same time,

"T…Thanks…" He shrugged,

"We have to stick together, don't we? And you said yourself that your stone is more dangerous and one burnout is game over for you. I don't think we'll be able to replace _two_ stone wielders." Plagg shrugged,

"True. It's already painful to activate and has a 10% chance of killing me. Putting my life on the line fighting some damn harpies." Psychic Jared was already flying, and rested on a ledge.

Kagami looked to him, "Are you okay? After the…"

"Getting frozen solid?" She nodded, and he sighed, "I think adrenaline is the only thing keeping me going, since I would have normally been crying in a ball at that point." He looked out to the fight going on, "And I have a new appreciation for Felix."

"I think we all do." Plagg agreed, shuddering, "I remember when Zoe brought him home as a six-month-old. Perfectly normal baby. Look at him now."

"Can you all stop reminiscing," Muerte asked, "And get back to Kahu killing?" They all realized they should indeed be doing that. Kagami had realized it after asking if her fellow stone wielder was okay, and was ready to go for the kill.

…

It had been decided that Heartless was going to be the first one to talk to Kahu.

Kahu, shockingly, had very clearly at least cracked a rib from Felix's attack. She tried to ignore the fact that was still her Dad's body, and he would have all these injuries once they saved him. Because they would! Still, the golden eyes reminded her this was her enemy.

"Kahu," she said coldly. Kahu smiled coolly,

"Chainbreaker," at that name, Heartless shifted back to Zoe, who used Excalibur as a cane to support her leg.

"You know, ya did a number on me. I'm not even sure I could beat you…" she grinned her trademark playfully evil grin, "But I know a pissed off wall of muscle who can."

Now, they couldn't get the helicopter—to the disappointment of everyone—but they could get the music. AC/DC's Back in Black started playing out of nowhere thanks to Zoe's bullshit as Psychic Jared and the other stone wielders dramatically appeared. He summoned Brightcrest and held the broadsword before turning to the others, who winced at the glow of his red eyes.

"Go help the others down below while I wear him down." Zoe nodded, shifting back into Heartless,

"Blazze!" That got Blazze's attention as Heartless jumped off the ledge with her middle fingers out, "Come get me, motherfucker!" Blazze took the bait and followed her, while the other stone wielders went to hell their friends and get Hana out of her other form.

Psychic Jared glared darkly at Kahu, who gestured for Viirus to do the fighting. But he wasn't in the mood to fight his friend, and jumped into the air as his wings started glowing the same red as his eyes. Muerte was the one to speak,

"Coward. Fight us for real. Don't make Viirus do your dirty work." Wear him down, and then they would be able to kill Kahu.

Kahu looked truly exhausted, but not enough so to surrender. He grinned maliciously, looking at the Faebane broadsword and in Viirus's general direction, then his eyes lingered on Muerte.

"Fine."

…

Heartless landed in the city ruins and ran as fast as she could on a fucked up leg, drawing Excalibur and ducking just as Blazze's sword swiped for her head.

It hit stone, the pillar groaning, but she was already moving.

Then she froze at the sight of Emilie unconscious on the ground. Or maybe dead. She was bleeding profusely and it was hard to tell from where. Heartless was about to check when she had to dodge.

"_You,_" Blazze growled, attacking again. Heartless rolled—right through Emilie's blood—again dodging a fatal blow. She winced at the pain in her leg, then uncurled to her feet.

The air behind her shifted, and she moved, but not fast enough.

Flesh tore in her upper arm, and Heartless barked out a cry as Blazze's burning blade sliced her.

She whirled, still not too bothered by the cut, bringing Excalibur up for a second blow.

Enchanted steel met enchanted steel and sparked.

Emilie's blood was at her feet, smeared across the church stones.

Heartless looked at Blazze over their crossed swords and let out a low, vicious snarl. She smirked as she used her good leg to sweep out a leg, sending Blazze tripping back. Heartless didn't hesitate to take the chance and lunge.

Blazze deflected the blow, but Heartless got past her guard and pinned her, slamming her head against stones that were damp with blood. Heartless could tell the moment dark splotches appeared in her former kwami's vision.

Heartless laughed, hoarse and cold, circling as Blazze got to her feet. Then, still holding her former friend's gaze, she sheathed her legendary blade across her back.

"Swords are boring." She said, and turned both her hands into fighting knives.

Blazze sheathed her own blade along her back. She flicked her wrists, claw-like nails shooting out. She cracked her jaw, and her fangs descended as her eyes changed to gold-orange with yellow scelare, "Indeed."

Heartless looked at the claws and teeth, and grinned.

Blazze lunged, as swift and deadly as an adder.

Heartless darted back, dodging each swipe of those lethal claws. For her throat, for her face, for her guts. Back and back, circling around the pillars.

She jabbed with her hand-blades from time to time, but Blazze side-stepped her, only to slash with her claws right for Heartless's neck.

Heartless spun around, but the nails grazed her skin. Blood warmed her neck and shoulders.

Blazze feinted left and slashed right, but Heartless had expected this enough to duck and roll aside.

Blazze hissed. Heartless made to drive her blades into her opponent's spine; Blazze lashed out with a hand and wrapped it clean around the blade.

Heartless smirked as she realized the fun was over, "You forgot something, Blazze. I am not a pet. I am a survivor, I am _strong_. I will not be weak or helpless again. I will not be broken. Tamed." She chuckled, and turned her blade-hand into smoke to free herself, and turned it back into a hand as she sent Blazze flying backwards with a flick of her wrist.

She looked at her hands, which gently held her dark fire, "Oh, I missed you." She looked up, "Sorry, old friend, you messed with the wrong bitch."

…

Adrien spat blood onto the debris. His mother was barely remaining conscious after a beatdown from Daizzi's trample power. Alya and Nino tried to cut their way through the zombie-Fae warriors while Marinette was sending out blasts of lightening.

Heartless had come flying through while battle Blazze, and hadn't noticed them.

More and more zombies poured in from the doors and windows. While Camille had done a solid with taking out a lot of the numbers, and these undead were easier to handle than the alive ones, the numbers were still overwhelming.

Chloe was using a pistol against them, and Adrien was reminded of the good old days before everything went to shit—well, they should be transformed for the nostalgia to truly be there, but this worked.

Still, himself and Marinette being the only magic-wielders was not an easy thing, and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out for very long, and neither would his amnesiac mate.

Alya had two knives left and Nino had a shield. From the looks they gave each other, they knew they weren't getting out of this church alive.

The zombies came in like an unending wave, their hollow eyes lit with bloodlust.

Alya gutted the zombie nearest her, black blood splattering on her hands, and engaged the two who replaced it.

Behind them, Emilie's breaths were rasping. Too labored.

Nino looked to his best friend, "It's been an honor, bro."

Adrien took a breath—one of his last, he realized. He didn't care though, other than wishing he could have been in his kids' lives more. But the row of swords before him was the higher priority, gleaming like the teeth of some mighty beast.

And then the front rows were burned down by a dragon or devoured by a leopard.

Adrien saw Colin riding his dragon with a grin, and could easily identify the leopard as Dausi. Wherever the shifter lunged, slashing with claws and fangs, undead soldiers returned to the afterlife.

The leopard then spoke, confirming it was Dausi,

"Oh, I _like_ this body."

Colin waved to them, "Hop on!" Adrien used his wind powers to force a divide, so the zombies parted like the red sea as he and his friends ran to the dragon. Chloe punched Adrien's arm,

"Adrien, why didn't you do that before?!"

"Confined space. Only when Colin blew the roof off did I have enough room. And I had to hide my Fae powers, since I see some zombies with Ashwood arrows. And I don't want to explain what that would do to me." He shook his mother gently, "Mom?" The blood was coming from pretty much everywhere. Eden was very much needed. He held Emilie close, "I'm not losing you too. So you better not die on me."

…

Amelia and Eli were in charge of battling Jaay and Roari.

Because both mother and son had transformed with Jaay before, they both knew the fighting style and powers. Roari was more of a mystery since Eden didn't use the transformation as anything other than a mask and otherwise relied on her own skills.

Eli had Jaay pinned in a few minutes, using ice against ice. But with how his friend was fighting, he wasn't sure he would be able to go help his mother without risking freeing him.

Then someone appeared and pinned Jaay to the ground with indestructible chains which Eli had to guess were laced with Faebane.

"Need help?" Eli looked up and saw his father grinning at him, looking younger than ever. He then turned and saw Camille was fighting both Nooroo and Duusu at the same time and barely seemed tired whatsoever.

"Okay, who taught my sister to be a badass?"

"Genetics." Harrison said with a shrug, "Fighters run in my family, with me being the exception. And you've seen your mother's side." Eli laughed,

"Yeah." He looked at Goldryn, "So I guess this is going to be a family battle?"

"I guess so." Harrison looked up and saw Hana flying above, "Now, are we going to kick ass as a family, or is your sister getting all the credit?"

Eli smiled, and went to help his mother.

…

Danielle was fighting Xuppu. Or rather, she was in the crossfire and was planning to rely on her luck to do the work.

Behind her, Stompp, Orikko, and Ziggy were battling Amren, Connor, Elaine and Gavin.

"Mess!" Xuppu called upon his power and threw a banana at Danielle, who tripped over her own feet, so the banana went flying at Stompp, who was using her power, Rush, on Amren—who shifted into a hawk, so it didn't really matter—but Stompp slipped on the banana peel and plowed into Ziggy and Orikko.

Connor took the chance to use his fire powers to stun Xuppu while Elaine let her feral Fae side free and clawed the monkey-themed Fae into unconsciousness.

"Thanks." Gavin said with a grin to Danielle, who gave her a thumbs up,

"Appreciate my bullshit powers."

"I do have a new appreciation for it." He agreed, "Shall we tie up the others?"

"We shall."

…

In a battle two-against-two, all things considered, things were going pretty well for Psychic Jared and Muerte.

Muerte dove under Viirus's legs and used her illusions to make herself invisible to him as she went to attack Kahu, but then she saw Jared was occupied with that and returned to fighting Viirus as an invisible enemy.

Jared brought Brightcrest down, a blow that would have cut most men in half.

Yet Kahu darted back fast enough that the sword sliced dow his torso, ripping fabric and skin as it cut across his chest in a shallow line. Blood sprayed, but Kahu was moving, blocking Jared's next blow.

Jared cursed. An inch closer and that bastard would have been dead, or at least unable to use Kelly as a vessel.

Another thing Jared did curse himself for was that he never trained with Kelly, didn't know his fighting style. From how much Kahu was taking from Kelly, it wasn't farfetched to believe the two had a similar if not identical fighting style. He had practiced with his mind powers, but never physical combat.

And a small part of him wondered if it was because Kelly didn't want people to know how much more skilled he had gotten in his time between teenage superhero and adult.

Jared could hardly move fast enough to avoid the sword ripping into flesh.

Kahu slashed for his stomach, but Jared blocked the blow and slammed Brightcrest into Kahu's forearm with enough force to not quite remove the limp but break the bone.

Kahu yelped in pain, and used his reality powers to heal the injury, giving Jared enough time to spin out of reach of another attack, circling again.

They lunged for each other, Jared's rage focusing him even more with every slash and swipe and block. They darted apart again.

The reason neither was using magic as of now was because Kahu was tired from having his own blast thrown back at him by Felix. And Jared was saving his powers for Kahu's weakest moment so he and the other stone wielders could kill him. Wearing him down to that point didn't require too much magic. Neither was going to drain themselves unnecessarily.

Jared smirked and went for the throat, only to feint and slash.

But what he didn't see was the moment Kahu decided to play dirty. He saw Muerte become visible once more, and used a switching spell, so he was suddenly where she had been and she was suddenly where he had been.

It was too late by the time Jared realized what had happened.

Muerte, now once again Joselyn, was thrown a good twenty feet away—thank god the top of this mountain was flat, otherwise she would have plummeted to her death—with blood pouring from her left side. He could tell her left eye was gone, and the blow on her chest would scar just like the gash on the left side of her face.

A father's protective instinct kicked in like never before and he made a move to make sure she was still alive and he hadn't just killed her.

But, whenever you really need it, there goes your footing.

His still fucked up leg gave out under him and he fell to his knees. He was about to get up when Kahu brought down a death blow.

…

Joselyn, surprisingly, was not bothered in the slightest that Jared just sliced her eye out.

She knew he would have stopped the blow if he hadn't been already bringing it down when Kahu did that spell, so she was merely angry at Kahu and wasn't going to get torn up about this or think Jared had secretly hated her or anything. Yes, she was insecure as hell, but Jared had done so many things that were the exact opposite of hating her. She had healed enough to know that at least.

And if that hadn't convinced her it was an accident, seeing Jared's glowing red eyes go to bright violet—scared—for a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, and the horrified and distraught expression on his face definitely proved he hadn't intended that attack for her.

She tried to send him a reassuring smile, to tell him she was fine and he had to keep fighting, but had already lost too much blood and she wasn't even strong enough to lift her head.

She did see Jared try to get to her, but stumble. She tried to get up to help him, but Kahu took advantage of Jared's moment of vulnerability and brought the blade down in a blow that had no chance of the target surviving.

Joselyn didn't see the strike come down and end Jared's life. She didn't watch him die again. But she knew he was gone.

She felt her mind cleave, and everything went black…

…

Jared had expected to be dead. To feel a sharp pain then end up somewhere with Freya cursing the situation.

He turned around, and saw Viirus was standing between him and the blade, and blood dripped down his forearms since his palms both had deep cuts from stopping a death blow from a sharp weapon.

"We need him alive." Viirus said, speaking for the first time, "You know that." Kahu looked genuinely confused,

"No we don't—" then realization dawned on him, "Oh, that's right. You two are friends."

"Viirus?" Kahu paled and Viirus turned. His eyes were still empty. Did he not recognize his own name? When Plagg suggested saying Viirus's name to help him break free, he thought it mattered _who_ was saying it, not the name itself. Whatever. "Viirus. Your name is Viirus."

He saw the exact moment Viirus remembered exactly who he was. Even if his eyes returning to normal didn't make it obvious.

"You're alive…" Viirus exhaled, remembering both the sight of Jared's corpse, and this Jared staring at him now.

Jared nodded, and Viirus looked back to Kahu, ripping the blade out of his former master's hands and sending the man flying back by his own weapon.

Kahu summoned the blade back and it vanished from Viirus's hands, who helped Jared up and started using his two knives.

"I'm glad you're back." Jared said, turning back to where Joselyn was…

Only she wasn't there. There was no trace of her at all.

Viirus noticed where he was looking, "Look for her once this is over. I got my hit in, but I know the killing blow is yours."

"Thanks." He noticed the questioning look at his hair, which had been distinctly brown last time the two of them had been together, "Long story."

Viirus squeezed his eyes shut, taking ragged breaths. Jared saw Kahu and knew immediately that he was trying to gain control over Viirus again. It was too risky to help, Jared knew this, but seeing as it had taken seeing his corpse for Kahu to get an opening in Viirus's head, he had faith his friend could keep his mind.

But still, seeing someone try to control a friend, again, any temporary relief from having a death blow blocked or having Viirus freed went back to fury, and he summoned Brightcrest again.

One-against-one, Kahu was a capable fighter and a good opponent.

Two-against-one, with those two both being trained fighters, made the fight downright unfair in Jared's favor. Because if you're in a fair fight, your tactics suck. Kahu had realized this the moment he had decided to take Joselyn off the field, but trying to tip the scale in his favor ended up tipping it in his opponent's favor.

At least until Kahu once again noticed the discarded Faebane-laced broadsword and picked it up with telekinesis.

Jared realized what was going on immediately, "VIIRUS, LOOK OUT!" Viirus dodged, barely, but he got a shallow cut on his bicep.

While if this was pretty much any other weapon, this wouldn't even make him bat an eye. But Faebane was a fast-acting poison.

So it didn't take long for that broadsword to come flying around again and run him through. And the Faebane already in his system made it too hard to dodge.

Jared had shredded Kahu's shoulder for the third or fourth time now since starting this fight when he heard that sound and saw his best friend fall to the ground, bleeding, with a sword sticking out of his gut with the other end protruding out his back.

He immediately ran over and removed the sword. While this wasn't a great choice when it came to blood-loss, he didn't want to make the poisoning any worse.

Fae being in the same _room_ as Faebane rendered them feverish and unable to use their power. Ingested left them weak and unable to function. Introduced into the blood stream through a fatal wound…

It hadn't even been a full minute, and already Viirus's skin was ashen and his breathing was shallow.

Kahu walked up to the two, "I told you, Viirus. Betrayal means death. Though I didn't think I'd actually have to act on it. Such a shame."

Looking down at Viirus, who was clearly dying, Jared felt something inside him snap. It had started when he saw Joselyn get hurt, but losing Viirus mere minutes after getting him back was the final straw.

The killing calm spread through him like never before. He would kill Kahu. _Slowly_.

In Jared's eyes, limning his skin as he stood up…uncut power.

He gazed between Kahu and Viirus. Just as Viirus's quiet whimper of pain was heard, and anyone who looked knew the poison was more the culprit of his pain than the actual wound. He was panting, blood dripping from his lips and onto the stone beneath him.

The power around Jared shuddered. He angled his head, and the movement was not human. Not Fae. Purely animal. Purely predator.

And when his eyes lifted to Kahu again… they were glowing so brightly red that anyone who looked in his general direction was blinded.

"I am going to kill you," he said quietly.

"Really?" Kahu asked, lifting a brow, "You couldn't even keep a child safe. Let alone your friend."

Jared's fingers curled.

Kahu snorted and raised up his blade, about to plunge down and finish Viirus off.

But that was the brain fog courtesy of Kelly talking. If Kahu was in his right mind, he wouldn't have dared hurt either Joselyn or Viirus, or would have run immediately after doing so.

Jared exploded.

All that power, all at once—

Kahu teleported out of the way for the most part.

Jared's power, even without Totem Armor added in, blasted the already-dead trees behind him to cinders. Blasted down the mountain and across the battlefield in a low arc, then right into both friend and foe. Nobody was harmed by this particular blast, but all the kwamis, in that moment, came to their senses.

Kahu appeared perhaps thirty feet away and laughed at the smoking ruins, "Magnificent," he said, "Barely trained, brash, but magnificent."

Then Jared heard Kelly's voice in his head, repeating, _"The blade! You need to break the blade!"_

_"__How do I know this is really Kelly?"_

_"__Who else would use coffee as a weapon? That explosion gave me a mo—" _Kelly was cut off, likely by Kahu forcing him back into dormant.

Okay. That was a very 'Kelly' thing to do. And he was already planning on killing Kahu painfully, so breaking the blade didn't really change things all that much and would take maybe a little more effort.

He could see Kahu was growing exhausted as well. But Jared hadn't noticed his own appearance shifted even more, until he was something almost Fae, but also much more powerful.

Kahu's expression finally held fear, as he mused, "Wouldn't have guessed Freya would decide her heir that way."

Did he know what that was supposed to mean? Not really. Nor did he care as he activated Totem Armor.

Totem Armor was granted to a powerful non-magic warrior. Jared had had this power since he was eight. Now he was twenty, had read a book with everything he had to know about it, and had dangerous psychic abilities.

To say the least, pissing him off was a _terrible_ idea.

No more waiting around for Kahu to get tired. That son of a bitch had to die now.

He ran at Kahu again, Brightcrest—now strengthened significantly—clashed with Kahu's blade. The weapon was probably more durable than Kahu himself, so Jared knew he had to put more power into it than healthy, but in that moment, he didn't care in the slightest.

At this point, he was in peak physical condition, but astral fractures were covering his entire body to the point anyone looking that wasn't blinded from the light wouldn't really see him—though that brightness would liquify a person's eyes within two seconds, so even Kahu wasn't looking.

Finally, the blade cracked.

"What?!" Kahu was thrown backwards by a shockwave, and Jared pulled out of Totem Armor, knowing he had been maybe a minute away from death.

But he still had psychic powers, and he had felt more aspects of it unlock. He didn't just want to Kahu. He wanted to make him _hurt_.

Kahu was barely able to move, and Jared knew that was because all that magic was being thrown into disarray within him.

_"__If I do have to take on Iku, and become her vessel…I'm asking you, as a friend…just…put an end to me. Promise me."_

He had made that promise to Kelly, and it was because of this that he didn't care at all whether it was Kelly or Kahu he was torturing right now.

Kahu writhed on the ground, from having all the air forced out of his lungs, as bones snapped, as even thinking became agonizing. But it wasn't enough. Jared wanted him to hurt even more.

He didn't notice the council appear. Morrigan ran off to check on her family, while the others went to check on their respective stone wielder. Plagg was gonna be checked on by Adrien.

"Easy," Freya warned as Jared's power grew wilder.

"I know." Jared gritted out, clearly annoyed that she was trying to bother him when he was clearly busy making Kahu suffer.

He was doing well controlling his power, though his skin gleamed with sweat from the effort—though from what Freya had seen of previous champions, he shouldn't even be standing right now.

The citrine glow from Jared's hands grew brighter.

"_Easy_," she ordered, but he didn't seem to hear, "Steady." She could actually feel the power radiating off him, which was only supposed to be felt by his target. "That's enough for now!" She demanded this time, reaching for his arm.

Pain seared the moment her skin touched his, and she let go, hissing, "That is _enough_!"

After a minute, Jared turned to look at her, slowly. Too slowly. _Oh god, _Freya exhaled, _Oh no._ The red in Jared's eyes looked less like rage and took the appearance of glowing embers—which dulled the intensity but upped the scare factor of anyone who knew what this was.

He turned away from her and back to Kahu, continuing to burn.

_No. _"Look at me." Freya commanded, and fear, genuine _fear_ for the first time in centuries clenched a heart that hadn't beat in just as long. _"Look at me."_

Jared didn't seem to comprehend what she was saying—though whether this was the burnout or his own stubbornness, she didn't know. He only stared at where Kahu crumpled on the ground, trying to get even a shred of oxygen, and Freya saw his body tense. _Oh gods, oh gods… _

If he didn't let go, he was going to burn himself to death. Couldn't he see that? And she couldn't auto-kill him without messing him up even more, so she couldn't force him to stop.

"Jared, stop this right now!"

He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but quickly closed it as he squeezed those burning eyes shut.

_"__Let go," _she tried. He only winced, and Freya clenched her hands into fists. "Jared, if you don't let go, you're going to burn yourself out completely!"

Still, he didn't stop.

"You are on the verge of roasting yourself from the inside out!" She snarled, and Jared opened his eyes, distant pain flaring in them as he fell to the ground, which finally released Kahu from that torment—not that it mattered since he too promptly lost consciousness, with the shattered blade next to him.

Jared was gasping as his power ceased the attack on Kahu, but Freya knew he was still burning inside. He had already used Totem Armor to a point that he would have scars for the rest of his life and would never be able to use it again without killing himself. But by the time his magic had decided enough was enough and let go, Jared had third degree burns coating the entirety of his hands and forearms, and had second degree higher up his arms and first degree on his face.

"Breathe. Breathe," Freya demanded, near begging.

He was sobbing now, losing control of his emotions and feeling the pain of a burnout. He wasn't in control in that moment, too tired to hide it all like usual. He was shaking where he lay. Freya knew she needed to get help.

She sprinted, running as fast as her legs could carry her while wearing a dress. Then she found Camille and Kagami running towards her, with Eden not far behind,

"Where?" Kagami asked, and Freya led them back to Jared, who was still sobbing. Eden quickly noticed Viirus as well, and barked orders at Blazze and anyone available to get a stretcher for him. They didn't have time to pick one and come back for the other, since they were both in critical condition.

"Can you stand carrying him?" Freya asked Camille, "There aren't any water-wielders here with Gabriel dead. And we need to get him into cold water. _Now_!"

Camille didn't hesitate to lift Jared into her arms, hissing in pain from the heat radiating off him that burned her skin.

Eli summoned ice to coat his twin's arms as they ran. There was no way in hell they were letting Jared die. Or Viirus. Or Kelly—assuming he was still in there after that attack.

They ran into what was likely a physician's hut long ago. Eli used his powers to turn the surrounding dirt into sturdier walls and Elaine managed to get enough water from the river into the tub. It wasn't the cleanest stuff, but it worked for now.

"Get him in the water." Freya said.

Camille wasted no time dumping him in the water. Immediately, steam rose from where Jared burned, and she swore.

Freya looked to Eli, who was coming in with more water from the river, "Eli, freeze it." He obeyed, but Jared's internal fire raged once more as the tub started bubbling.

"Get him out!" Camille reached for Jared immediately, wincing as he burned her again.

Eli finished filling up the tub and freezing the water, and Camille placed her boyfriend on the block of ice and watched his scorching skin melt it into water while Eli continued to freeze it.

"Breathe," she whispered into his ear, kneeling at the head of the tub. The water still steamed. "Let it go—let it out of you."

Jared took a shuttering breath, and she sighed in relief, "Good."

Eli continued to freeze the water, and Jared's flame melted it, the two locked in a small battle. Eventually though, the flames within Jared began to slow—to tire. It wasn't long before they calmed to the point they were relatively normal. Camille relaxed slightly as the water turned warm, and stayed that way.

"We need to get those clothes off him." Freya said hesitantly as she made room for Camille to start stripping Jared down. Eli waited outside the door with the Lady of the Lake, while Camille kept her eyes on Jared's face, red and glistening. It was obvious now that he was exhausted, but at least now he wasn't about to burn himself to death.

"Just answer yes or no. That's all you have to do," she said after a few minutes, and he nodded slightly, "Are your powers calm enough that you aren't in danger of flaring up again?"

Jared paused before answering, "Yes," he whispered, barely loud enough for even her to hear.

She relaxed visibly, "Are you in pain?" She looked into his eyes, knowing that her boyfriend would not be honest about that. Looking at his eyes, which were now completely white with a black swirl, just like Kelly when he got sick in Africa, she knew the answer.

She was caught off guard by his honest answer, "Yes." Then he started trying to move, "But I'm okay…migraines are worse. Viirus needs help more than I do…"

Freya came in with a bucket of water and two washcloths, before leaving again. Camille nodded her thanks as she drenched the cloth in freezing water.

"Viirus is being treated by Eden and Felix. They're doing what they can." Jared relaxed slightly as she placed one drenched cloth on his forehead and wrung the other above him.

"Joselyn—" Camille cut him off, because seeing him like this was painful, and he needed to understand how self-destructive he had been in that moment with Kahu. She knew him, so she didn't need Freya to explain for her to understand what had happened.

"The burnout. You should have acknowledged you were at your limit. The blood on your lips tells me you knew." Jared's eyes opened again as she wrung out the cloth on him again, "If you'd gone on any longer, the burnout would have destroyed you. You used too much power too fast, didn't give your body time to prepare. You need to pull back, no matter how mad you are, before it's too late. Otherwise this," she gestured to him, and the burns on his hands, "will be nothing compared to what you could put yourself through. And pulling back so close to your death with Totem Armor did not do you any favors. You don't _touch_ your magic until you've rested a while. Understand?"

"I need to find…Joselyn…" he panted, "She's hurt…" Camille pulled at her hair, knowing he still didn't get it through his skull how much he had scared her, or didn't care.

"Okay." She dressed him in new clothing made courtesy of Eli and his ability to turn dirt and sand into things. So she put him in the white shirt and black pants, before carrying him to another hut that was being used as the infirmary. Viirus was on a bed, Emilie on another, and a few people sitting on the benches.

Jared turned and tried to reach for Viirus, to make sure he was okay. Eden noticed this,

"Jared, I healed the stab. I'm not worried about anything other than the poison. It will take time for him to fight it enough for it to get out of his system, but he should make a more-or-less full recovery." She crossed her arms, "Your sir, need to sleep now. I am more worried about you than I am Viirus as of now. It's already midnight, and as long as he lives another six hours, he will be pretty much confirmed to live."

"Joselyn…"

"I'll look for her." Camille assured him, "And I'll wake you if there is any change with either Viirus or Kelly. But sleep until then. Unless things go to shit, it's over now." Jared tried to fight, but he was too tired to really do much, so he couldn't put up much of a fight when Hana used her sleep powers to force him into the realm of slumber.

OoOoO

Meanwhile, everyone was waiting for something to signal Kelly was okay. Whatever the hell Jared had done had caused severe damage, but was still no match for the combined healing powers of Felix and Eden. Fortunately brain damage was at the minimum, so they had hope he wouldn't have any amnesia or drastic issues.

Zoe had seemed to withdraw from the others, sitting meditatively while cradling her father's body on one of the beds and ignoring anything that tried to sway her out of her trance.

"Mom, are you okay?" Aelin tried asking for the thousandth time. Felix was sleeping on another bed. He didn't burn out like others did, he was simply exhausted and was resting.

Zoe didn't even flinch.

"Aelin, I think she's ignoring us for a reason." Eli said softly, "She really places her trust and hope with her Dad." Eden nodded.

Then, Kelly stirred. Zoe brightened and gently propped him into a sitting position as he yawned. Everyone in the room jerked back, ready for a fight, but then sighed in relief when Kelly's eyes were once again sapphire blue. But Kahu could conceal eye color…

Kelly looked at everyone confusedly, wincing at what was likely pain in his head, then said in perfect innocence "What, am I a monster now?" He looked around, "What happened? The last thing I remember is—JOSELYN!" He looked around much more frantically, and his panicked demeanor helped most of the team believe this was indeed the Kelly they knew.

Kelly started trying to get up, only to fall over with a yelp. Still, he was persistent.

"Dad…" Zoe proceeded to help him back onto the bed explain everything while Camille kept her promise to Jared and went to wake him up, finishing with, "Nobody knows where Joselyn is."

Kelly paled, looking Zoe over with tears in his eyes as he got a look at her leg. He hugged her,

"I'm so sorry…I-I thought I could fight him better…"

Psychic Jared came in moments later with the help of Camille, and his eyes widened as he could immediately see this wasn't Kelly at all. It was still Kahu. Though he did play a convincing part. But he could also tell Kahu was severely weakened, and not all there.

He looked to the other stone wielders who were watching Kelly cautiously, deciding to play Kahu's game, but had to warn the others, "That's not Kelly. It's Kahu still." He said it in a whisper so Kahu wouldn't hear.

Kagami frowned, "You sure? He's acting exactly like Kelly."

"Trust me, it's not him."

Hana crossed her arms, as they left the hut, "Might be my inner demon talking, but I can see where Psychic's coming from." Quantic Jared paled and looked back in at Kahu playing the role of guilty and worried father.

"So we do still have to fight him." He looked over his much larger other, "You still look terrible. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Yeah." He growled, "And while I'm pissed that bastard must die in the most convoluted way possible, he's weakened. That gives me time to look for Joselyn and get a little strength back. We'll play his game for a bit, and then attack when he thinks he has us all wrapped around his finger."

Plagg nodded, "Sounds like a plan. But we do have to tell the others."

"Zoe, Harrison, and Amelia already know." Psychic Jared said, "Mind reading part of my power is working on its own right now since I hit my head—thankfully there aren't enough things in this wasteland for it to turn into a migraine. They've known him the longest—hell, Harrison figured it out from _posture_. And they already plan on playing the game and subtly telling the others." He started limping back in the direction of the battlefield.

"Where are you going?" Kagami asked, "You're still not recovered!" She sent a pointed look to his bandaged hands and forearms as he turned to face her,

"I'm going to look for my daughter. And if I don't find her, I'll force it out of Kahu."

OoOoO

Kelly woke up and found himself sinking.

It was a weird feeling, to be sinking without being in water. Falling in slow motion? Maybe.

The last thing he remembered was finally being able to wrestle back enough control of his powers to tell Jared how to win—breaking the bade. Looks like he did that.

He handed on a stained glass panel, which seemed to be a picture of him. The station of awakening. He'd been here before. It was basically his soul with a physical form. So it had black thorns along the edges to symbolize Kahu. If he was evil of his own will, the pale blues surrounding the image of himself sleeping would be black or some other demented color.

He looked around for a moment, then Kahu came floating down as well.

"Looks like your apprentice threw our magic in disarray." Kelly growled,

"It was never _ours_. You have yours and I have mine. The only reasons I even agreed to you is because of my coffee addiction—which worked shocking wonders—and it kept you farther away from the worldsoul."

Kahu scoffed, "True enough. And with our separate magics trying to gain dominance, it will tear your body apart." He summoned his blade, "So while our magic tries to decide, you and I are left to duel out who gets claim of your body _without_ our magic. Winner keeps the body, and the other perishes." He shrugged, "Of course, that's what happens if I win. You win and we both die, and your soul vanishes forever."

Kelly summoned his own blade, "Whatever it takes. Anything to save my family."

"Hmph. It's always about your friends, isn't it?"

"At least I have some!" Kelly snapped, "I wouldn't be here without them." Kahu smiled,

"You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Let me guess. Is it…evil? And don't say I won't like you when you're angry, it's predictable, and I don't like you anyways."

"Oh fuck you!" Kahu snapped, "Let's just do this."

"You really want to go back up there to Jared's mind-rape attacks?" No, mind-rape had nothing to do with actual rape. It's a psychic attack that is nearly impossible to defend against and leaves most victims in a vegetative stay that requires a machine to breathe for them. And Kelly knew Jared was perfectly capable of doing this if he hadn't already—which he had.

He placed a hand on his hip at Kahu's appalled expression, "Get your head away from there. If it was actual rape, this story would take a _very strange_ M-rated turn."

Kahu was clearly confused, "What?"

"The audience will understand."

And then the fight began.

**A/N: You all know Kelly is the type of character to break the fourth wall.**

**Remember to review!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: Finishing the job (because you can't quite call it a battle)**

Jared looked at the mountain, sighing.

"Joselyn…please be alive up there."

He summoned his wings, wincing as them emerging made the burns on his back act up. He checked to make sure his wings weren't burned—a little at the edges, but nothing serious, and it just had a more badass look now—and took off.

He landed on the ground and looked around, "Joselyn!" he called, hoping to hear her voice. When there was nothing, he limped over to where she had landed when she got hit.

Blood had never nauseated him like it did in that moment. Maybe it was because he was the one to land that blow on her. But there was more blood here, staining the stones, than a human should lose.

What worried him even more was the fact there was no blood trail at all. There was a pool of blood, and nothing else. No sign of where she went.

Still, he looked around for her. Maybe she healed quickly like her sisters did? Seriously, Zoe's healing was astronomical, and Eden being a healer supported the theory hers was too..

It was about five minutes before he started truly panicking and fearing the worst. There was two people who might know where she went.

Viirus and Kahu.

Viirus was unlikely, but he might have seen something Jared didn't. Kahu was almost a damn guarantee. But he decided to go see Viirus first, to make sure his friend was still okay and hadn't taken a turn for the worst.

When he came back, Kahu was still pretending to be Kelly. Jared could tell which people were pretending to believe it verses who actually believed it. People who knew Kelly best were the ones who saw right through this, while others who didn't know him as well such as the original Quantic Miraculous Team were able to believe Kelly was fine now if not a little shaken.

Jared walked into the medical hut, and saw Viirus was shaking on the bed, as though he was trying to move but was too weak to.

"Viirus?" Viirus opened his eyes, just a crack.

"Hey." His voice was hoarse, almost like he had been screaming. And maybe he had been. Jared sighed.

"Are you…" no, he was not okay, that much was obvious, "gonna live?" Viirus nodded a little, and Jared felt himself sigh with relief—namely because it hurt his burned up lungs. He made a mental note to ask Eden for a little healing there.

Speak of the tenshi and she shall appear, Eden walked in a moment later. She smiled warmly,

"You gonna sit down and let me heal you? I tried to heal you while you were sleeping, and still you fought me and insisted I tend to Viirus." She looked to Viirus, before placing another blanket over him, "Better?" Then Viirus was asleep.

Jared sat on one of the beds and watched as Eden unwrapped his hands and started healing them. It felt like a sharp pain, before relief came crashing down on him like a wave as pain he didn't realize was there faded away. Yet, scars still remained.

"What happened to 'a good healing spell does not leave scars'?" Eden narrowed her eyes,

"That applies to an injury. You sir, roasted yourself with magic, and a lesser healer wouldn't be able to help you at all." Jared looked at his hands,

"Thanks," he looked to Viirus, "When will he fully recover?"

"Don't know." Eden replied, "Most Fae would have died long before now. From a non-magical perspective, I'd say he'll be fine by the end of the month. From a magical perspective, it could take months or even years…" Jared's blood ran cold hearing that.

"How's Kelly?" Eden looked up with a slight smirk,

"You mean Kahu." She shrugged, "Physically fine. Magically, he is weakened severely. I can tell from what I know about Joselyn that he will be feeding on someone's soul soon to gain strength. Take him out while you can."

"Who is dead?" She frowned deeply,

"Emma Agreste, Amren LeMay, Connor LeMay, Alya Cesaire, Nino Lahiffe, Emilie Agreste…" she paused, and he could see the guilt in her eyes on the topic of that last one, "We discovered that while Zoe is a Chainbreaker, I am a Chainmender, so I can fix the damage she did and added everyone back to the chain. Anyway, a lot of the kwamis are dead, so I'll just say that Blazze, Pollen, Viirus, Wayzz, Jaay, Duusu and Nooroo are the survivors. And there are many people injured."

"Joselyn?" Eden looked up at him,

"We don't know. I was hoping you could look around with the chain and find her." He shook his head,

"It doesn't help. It didn't help with Gina…"

Eden shrugged, "But what if Joselyn is alive? What if she's out there alone and needs us to find her?" Jared clenched his fists as Eden went on, "Kahu didn't mess with her spark like Viirus told me he, Kahu, had claimed. He messed with her powers. They are dangerous to use!"

"Spark?"

"Planeswalker spark. Apparently Joselyn has the potential to ignite hers." At his confused look, she explained, "The defining trait of planeswalkers is the ability to travel between separate universes with ease, while the vast majority of people throughout the multiverse are not even aware that other worlds beside their own exist. Planeswalking is a form of magic."

Jared then wondered if the reason Joselyn had vanished was her spark igniting. Though seeing as the alternative was that she was dead, he let himself hope it was just her spark. Even if that meant he had to go find her. If Zoe could find thirteen pieces of Eli's soul in under four months while pregnant, he could find one little girl.

Still, he was going to make sure Kahu knew nothing. Maybe he could reveal where exactly she had gone off to. And if not, Sam probably had an idea.

"I will find her." Jared assured, "But the chain doesn't work, while torturing it out of Kahu absolutely does."

"NO." Eden forced him back onto the bed, "You do not _touch_ the non-passive side of your magic!" He got up again,

"You're lucky you got me to sleep earlier." He got up and froze at the sight before him.

Wayzz, Duusu and Pollen were dead on the ground.

Chloe and Dausi were examining the bodies—the former with tears in her eyes. Jared was clenching his fists and shaking when the other stone wielders showed up after hearing the screaming.

"What happened?!" Quantic Jared shrieked. Psychic Jared turned to find Kahu,

"This ends now."

To his surprise, he was beaten to it by Zoe, Harrison, Morrigan, and Amelia. Kahu was strapped to a table getting the shit kicked out of him while the four were trying various spells to force Kahu out.

Zoe turned, "Have at him. Just try to leave enough of Dad left that _he_ can recover." Harrison snarled at Kahu, who smirked lazily.

Jared summoned Brightcrest, which turned into a smaller knife. It could turn into things?! That would have been _so_ helpful to know before this!

"Where is she?" He seethed, the words not sounding like they came from a human.

"Who?" Kahu asked, and Jared was unnerved by the genuine confusion. But no, there was no way he didn't know where Joselyn was.

"Joselyn." At the blank stare, he brought the knife closer, "Jos-a-lynn. Do I have to spell it out for you to get it through your skull? The child you possessed _for years_!"

"No, I understand," Kahu squirmed against the restraints, "I just don't know why you would think I know where she is."

Normally, Jared would take longer, but this was his daughter somewhere and he was already in a foul mood with the worried looks thrown his way. If they knew the full truth, that he would die killing Kahu, then he wouldn't get them off his back. Ever. And gods forbid _Camille_ so much as catches on.

So, with all of this in mind, and knowing he was already going to die and as such he might as well use his powers, we used a full-on mind rape against Kahu.

"JARED!" Freya ran in when she felt her own power being used, and saw Kahu almost choking while Jared was burning himself once again as he searched for the answer he was looking for, and making sure to do it in the most painful way possible for Kahu.

Then he felt himself forced out of Kahu's mind and fell backwards onto his ass.

"What were you thinking?!" Freya shrieked at him, "We told you not to touch your magic until you're healed!" Then she sighed, looking at him as he stood up—meanwhile, Kahu was slowly regaining awareness, having not been attacked to the point of no recovery since Freya intervened—"I guess it doesn't matter to you, does it? You already know what will happen if you use Totem Armor as a replacement for Kelly's stone."

"You know?" She nodded bitterly,

"It's _my_ book you were reading. Of course I know!" He turned away from her,

"Don't worry about it. Kahu still dies."

"Um…excuse me?" They both turned to Kahu, "But unless Kelly wins, you will just die in vain." At the incredulous looks, he explained, "Look, my very existence is delicate after the Iku and Vita split. So there is a half of me battling Kelly for control of this vessel, and the other half is talking to you right now. Each half can live independent of the other, so both of me needs to die for the whole to be gone. Kind of like a horcrux, but not."

"…"

"What?" Kahu asked.

Freya stared blankly, "How high are you right now?"

"I'd say 6'4. Why?"

Jared's stare was equally blank, "How is this the man who wiped out millions of worlds, brainwashed twenty of the Fae powerhouses, and took everything from me except Kagami and Camille?"

"Power is wasted on the young." Freya replied, as though quoting someone. But then she went back to herself, "Kelly's still in there?"

"Yah." Kahu's crazed and sloppy smile suggested two mind-rapes in the span of six hours had indeed fucked him up a little, "But I'm done talking now." Then he just…blinked out of existence. It took Jared a moment to realize that son of a bitch had been focusing his remaining magic and the power taken from Pollen, Wayzz and Duusu, and then teleported out of magic binding, indestructible chains.

He roared, and summoned Brightcrest again.

"Talk to us, Jared." Freya pleaded, "We can find another way. We have time—" He whipped around, his eyes once again glowing red.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, BITCH! WE DO _NOT_ HAVE TIME!" He clenched both fists, "And because of you, I didn't have enough time to dig around and find what he knew about Joselyn!"

"I'm gonna tell Camille." Freya replied, "If anyone can talk you out of this, it would be her or Joselyn."

"Don't you fucking dare!"

A pause.

"You just told her, didn't you?"

"Yes."

He glared darkly and made a move to shove her into the wall, only to fall over straight through her.

"You forget I'm technically a spirit. I don't have to be tangible."

"JARED BROCK!" Jared found himself trying to run away as Camille stormed into the tent.

Camille Sommers—beautiful, talented, brave, loyal, kind…

And _so_ pissed.

Unlike her brother, Camille did not use her magic all that often. But here she was, glowing with blue light and shaking in pure rage.

Last time he had seen her a fraction of this angry, it had been over a roast chicken after Nadja Chamack stalked her for hours. Nobody talked about the "Roast Chicken Incident" but right now Jared was wishing it was that.

She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him out of the tent to where the others were.

"WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME?!" Camille howled, the blue glow subsiding. Jared looked away, while the others were confused, but the other council members explained. He didn't want any of them to worry, and he hadn't even wanted them to know.

Tears were spilling down Camille's face, though he wasn't sure if it was sadness or anger, since she cried for both—namely the latter, she would work herself up so much she started crying. He did feel guilty for causing her pain. He had been ready to marry her, but it looked like that wasn't going to be happening.

"Cam…now _really_ isn't the time…don't worry about it." Oh dear god, that was the wrong thing to say.

"No, I think this is the perfect time." She snapped, using her magic and forcing him to sit down. He was tired of being forced to sit down. Kahu had gotten away, and that was his bigger issue. Either everyone else didn't know about that yet, or they just didn't care.

He did what he could to tune the shouting out as he got up and walked away.

"Jared—"

"ENOUGH!" He shoved away who had grabbed him with enough force to send them flying a good few feet. But he froze at the sound of bone cracking.

Zoe had been the one to grab him. She was the one he threw. Now she was limp on the ground, stitches undone and the already fragile bone in her leg was broken again.

Eli's expression went dark in a way nobody had seen before, not even when he killed Mara—the dark one, and now he wondered where the light one had gone. Zoe getting hurt by an enemy was one thing, but seeing it happen at the hands of a trusted friend was something else entirely.

He held up a hand and Jared had all the air in his lungs forced out of him and his leg gave out under him. Felix ran over to his mother, who was clearly in pain and sucked into some sort of memory, likely that of being tortured for days on end.

"I seem to have been mistaken about you, Jared." Eli said, his voice icier than the magic he wielded, "I didn't think you were so selfish that you would just check out when there are people who love you and just want to help. I thought you were our friend. And now I've watched you hurt both my wife and my sister, with no regard that there are very likely other ways to handle the situation with less tragic consequences. Hasn't there been enough death?" He lowered his hand, "Go kill yourself if you want, I don't care anymore. But don't think I will be singing any requiem or you will be remembered as a hero."

Jared saw the hurt in Camille's eyes, all that pain. Then he thought of Joselyn. What would she think? Well, she'd blame herself for the situation, that was obvious. He wanted there to be another way, but he didn't see one. Kahu had gotten away and needed to be taken out before he got strong enough to cause more damage.

"You think I _want_ to die?" He snapped, standing up when he finally had enough oxygen to not immediately fall over, "No. But that's what I have to do to kill Kahu, since we don't have time to plan another way. Hate me if you want. But I'm going to go find Kahu—who escaped right before you all started shouting at me—and kill him. End of discussion." The shocked expressions of everyone proved they hadn't known, and realized exactly why he kept insisting this wasn't the time. Now they understood why he was trying to get away.

"I'm coming with you." Kagami said, her voice cracking. Quantic Jared nodded,

"Yeah. W-We stone wielders have to stick together, right?" Plagg nodded and Hana linked arms with Psychic Jared and Kagami—who both squirmed but couldn't escape her grip,

"Love ya, Eddie." She said back, likely in Eden's direction, "I'll be back." She grinned, "We're off to kill the wizard!"

Psychic Jared looked back, letting a tear fall down his face as he locked eyes with Camille. Even while crying she was stunning, and his heart cracked even more. He sent her an apologetic look,

"Don't follow me. Please." Her lip quivered and she ran to hug him tightly.

And, damn it all, that was the moment the mating bond clicked. At first he had wondered when the bond would click if it hadn't already. Now he was cursing the bond to hell because _of course _it would click when he was going to be dead tomorrow at the latest.

Eli's expression became even colder, making it clear he knew it happened and that it didn't change anything in Jared's decision. Hell, everyone magical realized it. Was this not a private thing? Apparently not.

"Don't go." She pleaded with him, "We'll find another way." He kissed her forehead, any anger towards her fading faster than it would have literally anyone else short of Joselyn.

"Cam…it will be too late by then." he put his fingers under her chin, "I love you, so much. But I have to do this."

"P-Please…" that singular word might have been his undoing in a normal situation, so he forced her arms off and gestured for Harrison and Amelia to take her.

"Take care of her." He knew full well she could take care of herself, but he meant in a more emotional sense. Both parents nodded, and he looked to Zoe, "Sorry."

"Don't sweat it." She assured as Felix healed her leg over for the umpteenth time, but the damage was still there where the spear had gone through, "The chicken incident was worse."

Plagg looked to Adrien, who seemed to have figure out this was going to be the last time the two of them saw each other. He was begging with his eyes, but Plagg shook his head. Adrien held onto his two remaining children, still devastated with having lost Emma to an Ashwood arrow to the heart.

Dausi, who had lost both her husband and daughter, looked to Jared, "If you're gonna go, make it in a blaze of glory and kill that son of a bitch. And make it painful."

"Will do." he looked back at Camille, "I love you." It wasn't just a declaration, it was also a goodbye.

He looked to the other stone wielders, who nodded. They all activated their armor and entered the Lanes Between in search of Kahu.

OoOoO

Kelly just barely avoided falling off his station of awakening. Kahu was relentless with the attacks. Yes, he could fight, but Kahu still had enough magic for flying, and that made this much harder. And he didn't know what happened if he fell of the platform, so he would rather not risk it.

Kahu liked going straight for the attack. Kelly preferred attacking from a distance. This made the fight difficult. Yes, he could hold his own, but he was significantly stronger with a bow and arrow or a gun instead of a sword. He could feel Tazri's eye roll, seeing as she felt the opposite.

"You're insane, you know that?" Verbal attacks seemed to work better as he dodged another blow by leaping over Kahu.

"How so?" Kahu asked, and Kelly proceeded to explain,

"Me and my elite squadron of ten braincells have asked if what we're doing is a rational decision. Usually what follows is a best guess based off conspiracy theories pulled from newspaper headlines and the scattered bones of a shrew tossed in a dog's face. Somehow the insane process has never strayed me far enough that I've found myself in a desert wondering what would happen if I poked God in the eye." He shrugged, "Though whether God is the council or a pissed off Jared, your guess is about as good as mind. And even if this is to get back at the council or some shit, war doesn't determine who's right, it determines who's left. And you've pissed off enough people that you won't be one of the ones left, so you aren't right either."

Confusion—a wonderful tactic when in doubt. When the going gets tough, kick whoever made it that way, either verbally or physically.

So, he kick Kahu in the shin.

Maybe not the best decision since he was flung backwards almost off the station of awakening a moment later. He had enough time to climb back up from where he was dangling over the edge.

"Need some help?" That voice…it couldn't be…

Pikko held out a hand with a smile, which Kelly took, his knees suddenly weak.

"P-Pikko?" She nodded, and he took a step back as she casually created a barrier of rocks to keep Kahu out for a few moments, "Y-You're dead. I watched you die."

"Not quite." Pikko explained, "What was left of me joined you, and slept inside your soul. I've channeled myself a few times through you. But now I know you need help." Kelly nodded,

"One last transformation together?" She nodded, and resorted to her animal form and vanished as the transformation covered Kelly. One last battle. If he was going to die anyway, might as well make it fun.

Kahu's eyes widened, "Impossible!"

Lionheart fired an arrow straight through Kahu's chest, "Much better. This is going to be fun."

OoOoO

Psychic Jared was staring out the window of the Gummi ship at the Lanes Between outside. The worlds he could see were blinking out again, or shriveling in on themselves. They had to find Kahu, fast. He knew this was some sort of spell that had been activated before Kahu had a smackdown, and it was spreading. So he didn't know how strong Kahu was now if this was a preexisting spell.

The idea of dying wasn't what bothered him—he'd done it before. It was the fact the stupid bond clicked and now he didn't know what would come of Camille. He could already feel her tugging desperately on the bond, trying to change his mind. He did what he could to block it out, but it wasn't like blocking Plagg, and was damn near impossible.

He had seen the mess that Eli had become when Zoe was dead for a whole two minutes. He had heard what had happened to Zoe when Eli fell into a coma. They had both been an unconsolable mess. Was that just an Eli and Zoe thing? Or is that what happened when one lost their mate? Imagining Camille like that was hard. He didn't want to put her through pain.

He didn't notice Plagg sit next to him, "You're brooding. And drinking flavored diet coke, so something much be _very_ wrong. This calls for a particularly subtle blend of psychology and extreme violence—the latter towards Kahu." He frowned, "Are you nervous?"

"No." He answered quickly, realizing what he had been drinking—he hadn't even realized he had been drinking anything until Plagg brought it up, too busy in his own thoughts—and spat it out, "I'm not worried about dying. I'm worried about Camille and Joselyn."

"Understandable." Plagg got himself comfortable and also looked out the window, "I'm worried about Adrien. That's all." Psychic Jared turned to look at Plagg,

"You're dying too?"

"Yeah. One burnout and I'm a goner. It's gonna take more than one burnout to kill this fucker. What he lacks in smarts he has in resiliency." He turned, "When it comes to Cam and Jos, try not to think about it. Killing Kahu is more important. If you do it, you'll regret it. If you _don't_ do it, you'll regret it. Either way, you're _still_ gonna regret it, so why not just do it?"

"I know."

Hana came over, "Talking 'bout death?" They nodded, and she sat down as well, "Sweet count me in. Unlike you two, I haven't died before, just gotten close. So I'm curious. And there's the whole 'coming back as a demon' thing."

Quantic Jared and Kagami were staring at the three idiots practically wishing for death with flabbergasted expressions.

"Why are you all so calm?!" Quantic Jared asked, his voice going up an octave. Hana shrugged,

"Death always happens." Hana replied, "And myself and these two pricks have either died or been close to it many a time. You stop caring after a while."

Kagami sat in a seat, "I understand. I just don't like it." Plagg nodded,

"So can the five of us all agree to not worry about each other? We know what's gonna happen and there's nothing we can do about it." There were nods from everyone—except Quantic Jared, who was clearly terrified and questioning the mental state of his companions.

Hana then popped open some champaign, "Well, we have time. And Jared is a newly mated man. We will have literally no other time to celebrate this."

Kagami frowned, "Wait…who's flying the ship?" The others frowned as well. Quantic Jared got up to check—read get away from the band of borderline suicidal maniacs—and saw Gizmo flying the ship, her hair flicking various switches and he could literally see the gears in her head turning through her green eyes.

"Gizmo?!"

"Yeah?" She turned, "None of you were driving, so I did. Analytical Prowess, remember. I'm looking for places Kahu would be."

"Oh. Carry on then." He sat down, "Please tell me you aren't wishing for death."

"Death happens." Gizmo replied, and he groaned loudly before going back to the stone wielders. Hana was trying to get Psychic Jared to stop thinking about Joselyn and Camille for a whole minute.

"How exactly does the bond work?" Kagami asked, "Is it like soulmate bullshit?"

"Not exactly." Plagg explained, "It's not one person only in the multiverse who can make you happy. It's two magical creatures in a relationship, and said relationship will work out beyond 'death do us part'. So it makes sense it clicks right before he dies. Inconvenient, and horribly painful for Camille, but it does make sense."

"Then why is it so rare?" Hana asked, "if it's for love that won't end badly and nothing more, I would think that would be pretty common."

"Unfortunately no. For humans it would be, but not in the magical community. Usually parents will sell their powerful child off to the highest bidder to ensure the strongest offspring, no matter the child's happiness. That's so common that true, unwavering love is very rare. That's why it's so sacred these days."

"Oh." Quantic Jared shook his head, "That's horrible!"

"Yeah." Plagg agreed, "Fae respect the bond more at least. I for one, Psychic, knew you and Camille were going to be mates from the moment I saw you two together—remember, when you were returned from the dark realm and proceeded to fuck. Even then I could tell. You were attracted to her more than you would be another woman, am I right? Bit more willing to flirt with her and think about an actual relationship, which is not ordinary for you to do?" Psychic Jared gaped at how dead-on that was.

Quantic Jared, for one, was much preferring talk of love over talk of death.

Kagami was still curious, "What's the difference in a relationship before and after the bond clicks?"

"Well, telepathic connection, seeing through each other's eyes…two souls united as one…losing one makes the other feel like they've lost themselves…" He shrugged, "I'll put it this way. Jared is basically married without a wedding, only much more valued. Mating is permanent, marriage only half of the time is."

"Lovely." Psychic Jared muttered sarcastically, "So Camille _will_ suffer when I'm gone."

"Yeah. But it's for the greater good and she'll understand." He winked, "Behind many a great man is a woman shaking her head."

Hana looked a little offended, and looked to Psychic Jared reassuringly, "Women are angels. When someone breaks our wings, we continue flying…albeit on broomsticks."

Quantic Jared got up, "I'm going back to Gizmo."

"Wait what? Gizmo?" Gizmo's hair opened the door between the main room and the driver's seat and took the form of a hand to wave.

"We're heading to Galowen." Psychic Jared blinked,

"Galowen? Ariana's kingdom?"

"Yeah." Gizmo turned to face them, "Galowen is home to thousands of magical creatures and Fae. If I was a villain who ate souls to take power, was suffering from severe magical weakness, and needed assistance, wouldn't I go there?

"That…actually makes sense." Quantic Jared mused, "Is it a nice place?" Psychic Jared nodded,

"Ariana's a bit of a bitch, but she will help us. And the place itself is actually really welcoming. And there's a healer who can heal Ashwood poisoning…and potentially Faebane." Kagami noticed his demeanor change, and placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Viirus will be fine, Jared. I-I'll make sure of it when you can't."

"Thank you."

"Oh, and one more thing." Plagg said, "When someone dies from Totem Armor, it drains the energy of any nearby beings in a thirty foot radius. A kwami would become High Fae, someone could completely lose their magic…stuff like that. And the death itself is just a sharp pain and then nothing."

"And you know this how?"

"You forget that Totem Armor is a Fae power and I have died before and went to the Fae afterlife. I had time to talk to others of my kind."

They all sat in silence—Hana was drinking the champaign and nobody bothered to stop her—until landing in Galowen.

"Okay." Hana looked around, "Fairly large world, tons of places Kahu could be hiding—"

"Follow me." Gizmo said, her voice almost robotic.

"Where are we going?" Quantic Jared asked. Gizmo didn't respond, and Kagami noticed the girl's irises were literal green cogs.

"She's using her analytical power. While I don't trust the girl, I do trust her power." She said, "It's proven to be helpful without fail."

They continued walking, and Hana noticed Psychic Jared's leg was clearly acting up no matter how much he tried to hide it. She wrapped his arm around her shoulder and helped him walk.

"What are you doing?!"

"Helping you." Hana replied, noticing Ramsey had appeared before her master and was running around. "What? You need to save your strength for fighting, not exhausting yourself unnecessarily by walking on a leg that could easily break again."

Normally he would argue with her, but she did have a point. Looking at his leg, it really didn't look like it could hold much more weight before snapping or giving out.

Maybe if they had had more time together, they could have become a great team. But for now they were at least positive acquaintances.

Gizmo led them to a manor of the sort, hidden behind a waterfall. Psychic Jared recognized the manor, being where Ariana and Crow had lived with Cherokee and a small band of other magical kids.

Inside the manor, they found Kahu next to a pile of dead bodies. He looked much healthier.

Hana vanished into the shadows and summoned Starlight. Not even her allies could see her until Kahu screamed with Starlight through his back and Hana reappeared, only to get thrown backwards with enough force to go straight through the wall.

"Han!" Quantic Jared turned a leaf of ivy into sodium and threw it into the puddle next to Kahu, who caused an explosion.

Kagami made the wind pick up into a tornado she could command and move at will.

Ramsey was nuzzling against Hana's unconscious form, shifting into a bigger more nightmarish version that was worthy of being called a hellhound. She was clearly going to protect her master.

Kahu managed to block Psychic Jared's attacks and Kagami's tornado by creating a forcefield and using telekinesis to make Hana fly to him, where he summoned the blade,

"One move and she's dead."

Three things happened after that. One: Ramsey phased through the forcefield and bit Kahu's leg all the way down to bone marrow. Two: Hana woke up and blasted Kahu in the face with her sleep power. Three: Gizmo used her indestructible hair to keep Kahu still.

"Kelly!" Hana called, "Wake up!" Plagg turned,

"You're using your power to wake up Kelly!" Hana nodded, and they say Kahu's eyes go back to Kelly's blue, and Psychic Jared could confirm it was truly Kelly this time.

"NOW!" Kelly screamed, "I've got my half handled, just kill this guy!"

"What about you?" Hana asked. Kelly glared,

"Hana, if you love my daughter, you will send this crazy bastard straight to hell! DO IT! Your magic will know what to do!"

Quantic Jared was the first to figure it out. A ball of purple energy was between his hands.

The fiend looked unimpressed. "Really? Can't you just let yourself die with a little dignity or something?"

Psychic Jared shrugged, "Sorry, we're stubborn that way. Now I'm going to let you have a chance to stop all of your scheming. Get out of his body and face us like a man. I'm going to count to ten, and if you aren't out by then, we'll see how much damage five stone wielders can do. One," Kahu didn't move a muscle. Couldn't really. "Two,"

"Three," Kagami continued the countdown.

"Four," Hana figured out what she had to do.

"Five," Plagg prepared too. "Six,"

"Seven," Hana shifted into her demon form to increase the power of the ball in her hands that would momentarily hit her target, "Eight."

"Nine," Gizmo ran off, seeing where this would go the moment Jared activated Totem Armor. Besides, she noticed something else.

Kahu didn't even have time to react before the team all looked to each other, a final goodbye.

"Ten!" The ball in each stone wielder turned into a beam of light that pierced Kelly's soul and Kahu's, and suddenly the being that was truly Kahu emerged, and it made Hana's demon form look like an angel in comparison.

Psychic Jared glared at the being, _"I'm sorry, Camille,"_ and activated Totem Armor.

He saw that it was working almost immediately. He heard Kahu scream, and had a moment of satisfaction before he felt the expected sharp pain.

And then nothing.

OoOoO

Lionheart sent the final blow at his half Kahu to finish the bastard off. Kahu exploded, and Kelly detransformed, landing slowly back on his station of awakening, which already had cracks and was starting to fade.

Not yet. He was okay with vanishing, but he wanted to say goodbye to his friends and daughters.

He had a little strength left. He could do it. _Please. _he pleaded to whoever would listen, I won't _fight, but just give me this._

Someone must have heard him, because he woke up in his own body.

…

Did anyone really think the rest of the team would accept the stone wielders going off to their deaths? Hell no! It was thirty seconds before Adrien threw down his own Gummi ship and everyone loaded in. No really, everyone. Viirus was sleeping in the bed with Eden tending to him. The dead had been gently loaded into the luggage compartment below so they could do proper burials.

However, without Gizmo to give them a location, they had no idea where to go until suddenly Camille let out an animalistic shriek and grabbed the wheel, crash landing in Galowen about a half mile away from the manor.

"Camille!" Harrison called, seeing his daughter not bother with checking the injuries she caused with her actions—the wounds on Felix's wings had reopened, Roxas was pinned under the ship while phasing to lessen the damage, Catra snapped her wrist, among other things. Camille sprinted off into the woods with the aid of her magic to make her faster.

Amelia grabbed Harrison's hand, and he realized that while Camille was likely worried about Jared, they had their own issue, "Kelly!" They too ran, followed by Zoe after she got her son free.

_"__I'm sorry, Camille." _Then she bond had gone dark before shattering completely. That was what spurred her into action, and also showed her exactly where he was. She just prayed she could get there fast enough to use her own magic to replace Totem Armor in killing Kahu. Even if she lost all her power, it would be worth it if he was still alive.

When she found herself at the place, she wasn't sure if she choked, screamed, or remained silent. Maybe all three somehow.

In a perfect circle, the grass was dead. Hell, everything was dead—drained of energy and life. In the center of it was Gizmo, standing there with her hair covering something. The only other people in sight were the burned up body of Plagg and Kelly limp on the dead grass.

In her heart, she knew what Gizmo was hiding. She just didn't want to believe it.

Gizmo looked up from where she had been looking at something in her hand. At Camille's desperate look, she shook her head.

"Y-You're too late." She slowly removed her hair from where it was covering what Camille assumed was Jared's dead body.

What she saw was not at all what she had expected.

The…being…laying in the grass—whether it was dead or unconscious or had just been created, she didn't know—was _definitely_ not Jared. It was probably eight feet tall, with long white hair in a tight braid down its back, ashen grey skin, and a very muscular build, despite the sunken face and portions of the abdomen rotting. It was naked too, which explained Gizmo covering.

Gizmo's voice was in a hushed whisper, "That's…all that's left of Jared. A lich. This is a separate entity from Jared. Don't expect any memories.

Camille flicked her wrist and clothed the lich in a black tunic and pants, which was better than nothing. She was still in denial, praying that maybe this was just Jared in a different body—which she would be fine with.

She touched his shoulder, but his eyes opened before she made contact. His eyes were jet black with the occasional purple flicker. He sat up before standing, looking around.

"J-Jared?" She asked hesitantly. He looked at her, and whatever hope she had vanished at the lack of familiarity as he said,

"Otar."

Then she truly felt the pain of losing her mate.

An invisible hand clasped over her mouth; an equally ghostly hypodermic of adrenaline pierced her heart, unloading in an instant. She felt her ribs heaving as if bound by ropes, straining to inflate her lungs. Her head was a hurricane of despair spinning out of control, each second pushing her mind into blackness. Sounds that were near felt far away, like she was no longer in the body that now lay paralyzed on the dead grass…

Otar watched her collapse, a little confused, before looking around at his surrounding and the other people. He didn't do anything to stop Eli from checking on his sister.

…

Harrison, Amelia and Zoe immediately ran to Kelly. Adrien sprinted to Plagg's side.

"Kels!" Amelia cradled her best friend in her arms, and he smiled at her, albeit weakly. They all three noticed his eyes were getting increasingly more grey.

"H…Hey…" Harrison looked down,

"Kelly, come on, it's gonna be okay. Eden's gonna patch you up, and everything will be fine. We'll find Joselyn." Kelly shook his head,

"I'm lucky to see you guys…one more time…" Zoe slapped her Dad as his eyes started closing,

"Stay awake, goddamnit!"

Kelly looked at his daughter, smiling still. He took her hand, and she could feel his life ebbing away. She could tell from the expressions of Harrison and Amelia, and the way they were both holding their friend that they knew too.

"I love you guys." Kelly whispered, "Eden…Emilie…tell them that for me…and please find Joselyn and tell her too." Harrison put a finger to Kelly's lips,

"D-Don't talk…sa-save your strength." His voice was shaking as he tried to convince himself the opposite what he knew was true.

They stayed that way, sitting in silence and praying for a miracle—seeing as Eden couldn't repair soul damage, at least not yet—until Kelly's breathing came to a halt.

Zoe was frozen. She had always seen her Dad as someone who was going to be around forever because he was too stubborn to die. So seeing that powerful life so lacking in his body was scary.

The other two seemed to have believed the same thing. It was Harrison who open wailed first, followed by Amelia's sobs. Zoe was crying too, but she hadn't registered it fully yet.

She was brought from her musings when she felt Felix tap her shoulder. He was god's grandson, maybe he could do something!

Felix tried, he really did, but eventually he shook his head. That was when Zoe lost it, squeezing her Dad's hand desperately,

"Don't go!" She begged, "Please!" No response, and she was shaking now, "You said you would be there when I needed you. Well I need you right now!" She let her tears fall onto his sleeve, praying for a miracle.

Only while Kahu had lost in the long run, he had still won a little in taking very important people from them. Maybe that son of a bitch really did get the last laugh…

OoOoO

The council, meanwhile, was either bitter or shocked.

"Oh come on!" Grim Reaper complained, "Stupid Kahu. While his spell may be gone now, he completely destroyed zillions of souls to the point not even Empty gets them! We only get a handful and pretty much all of them involve a damn council meeting!" They were all also put out that Kahu had been destroyed to the point that Empty got him, meaning no torture. Just…nothing. There wasn't enough soul left to do anything to. They supposed Mor could restore him, but that was too risky to be worth it.

Cradh walked past the other council members, having thrown Plagg's limp body—or rather soul with the same form as his normal body—over his shoulder as he walked back to his domain. For souls that required a council meeting, they went into a special room where they were in stasis until a decision was made and they were taken by that council member to the afterlife. This was actually the second time _ever_ they had seen Cradh go in there since planeswalkers didn't require a meeting and just got plopped there to begin with.

"What are you doing with Plagg?" Micah asked, "He isn't a planeswalker. Shouldn't he go back to Freya like he was the first time?" Cradh turned,

"He used my stone. Anyone who uses my stone is mine in the afterlife." He said simply, then they all noticed the smile creeping up Morrigan's face as she formed a plan.

"So…if someone were to take my stone and I put that in specifically, even a planeswalker would go to me." Cradh's expression told the others he knew exactly what she was planning.

Joselyn. Her spark had ignited, so she would go to Cradh unless someone intervened, which would separate her from her family for eternity once she died.

Fawn also grinned, "Yeah. Either Cradh agrees, or he has to give up Plagg if others can't do it. While you are the strongest, Cradh, it's fair. And Morrigan is the closest anyone or anything will get to being as powerful as you. One planeswalker in exchange for a Fae." Cradh didn't argue, since the others had a point, but he didn't agree either. Well, Morrigan hadn't made her stone yet and nobody had any idea where Joselyn was—and assuming she wasn't killed, she would live for millions of years. They had time to work out the details.

Freya came in, "Guys, I need help." Empty perked up,

"What'd ya need?"

"Help dragging Jared to the Trauma Rehabilitation." Morrigan furrowed her brow in utmost confusion,

"Why? He lived a fulfilled life, and will move on quickly."

"Nope." Freya crossed her arms, "If Camille or someone gets Otar to power down…Jared can return to life. But that will take time. So I've wiped Jared's memory, though made it so memories prior to his first death at age fifteen can appear. You know this specific rehabilitation is hellbent on not moving on, so this will at least give us time."

"You've got the details." Micah mused, "What do you need us for?"

"One: dragging Jared because he is heavier than I am strong. Two: I need one of you to be the Student Council President." Every time they put someone in that rehabilitation who was just there until they returned to life, they had a student council president enforce the rules in a manner so the person they were trying to preserve wouldn't be peaceful long enough to move on. Last time it had been Fawn. "I kind of need him to be alive, seeing as he's the first being in a thousand years that I trust enough to take my place of the throne of the living Fae."

Morrigan raised a hand, "I'll do it. Sounds fun." Then she noticed Empty was leaving, "But first, I have something I need to do."

The others watched her leave, before Grim, Micah and Fawn helped Freya change Jared into a school uniform, revert him to his fifteen year old self, and drag him to the rehabilitation.

"Done and done!" Grim Reaper cheered, "Now we wait."

Freya nodded, looking down at Jared's peacefully sleeping face, "And now we wait."

…

Kelly didn't know where he was. It was either extremely dark, or extremely dark. He was laying flat on the ground, and felt himself slowly sinking into some sort of sludge stuff.

"Where am I?" He asked, or tried to. No sound came out. His eye-lids were getting heavy.

Wait…who was he? Maybe it was the exhaustion getting to him, but he couldn't remember his own name.

Then a woman was standing over him. She had golden blonde hair and violet eyes. Her name was on the tip of his tongue. Still, she felt safe. Maybe she could answer these questions.

"Sleep." She assured, "You're tired and need rest." Well she wasn't wrong.

He closed his eyes and let himself sink into oblivion, at least until there was a bright light.

"Kelly!" He opened his eyes, but found he could barely see since he had sunk well into the sludge. The woman who came down also seemed familiar. The blonde woman looked horrified to see her, and then Kelly—that was his name apparently—had a hand extended towards him, "Take my hand!"

The blonde woman glared, "Stay out of this, Morrigan. He's mine."

"Not if I restore his soul. Remember that power is a major reason I was allowed on the council."

Kelly's limbs felt like lead, trying to reach for the extended hand. The blonde woman shifted into a being made of the same black sludge,

"Oh that's right, you two are family. I remember when you almost wiped us all out—excluding Cradh—in a blind rage, unable to control your powers—because Kelly died the first time." Morrigan nodded,

"That's right." Kelly managed to take her hand, and she pulled him out of the sludge and wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him upright. He was still exhausted.

"Come on, Kels. Time to go home."

…

The team had settled on going to Innistrad while Eden tried to hunt down the other stone wielders who had gone missing. This room specifically was where they stored the dead.

Gizmo knew Joselyn was out there somewhere, and she was going to be on the next ship looking, but for now she needed time to think.

Adrien, now being a father, tried even harder to cope healthily on the topic of Plagg's death. Though he, like especially Eden, was heartbroken to lose Emilie. She had been brain-dead by the time anyone could heal her.

Zoe's leg would never truly heal and she would have to use a cane for the rest of her life. And Felix's wings were destroyed. Other than that, the injuries could be healed instantly. Viirus wasn't injured exactly, he was awake and just on bedrest, but the Faebane was still in his system to the point he couldn't even tap into his power, and nobody knew when he would be able to.

Funerals for the other fallen were brief yet heartfelt.

Everyone mourned Kelly's death. Deep down, they had expected it, but it was still a hard loss for everyone.

Jared was a different story, much more divided. Most people mourned him because he had been their friend. But then there were others—namely Dausi and the Sommers family excluding Camille and Zoe—who treated it as a suicide since he hadn't gotten it through his skull that there was another way. They would have understood if he really had felt like he was alone or depressed, wouldn't have judged him as much and definitely wouldn't hate him, but they had all seen Camille crying and begging him to stay.

So Harrison, Amelia and Eli hated Jared's guts for him knowingly hurting Camille, while the others who believed this simply didn't mourn. Because of this, Camille wouldn't talk to her family, not wanting them to bother pretending around her. Though to be fair, she had been catatonic for the first three days before even trying to be social.

Gizmo herself understood both sides of the argument, being someone with analytical abilities. She saw how Jared came to the conclusion there was no other way, and she also saw how the people much more experienced in magic were bitter because there could have been another way.

But she didn't really care all that much about the topic, she didn't have enough understanding of emotions to do so—the only person who could get any emotion was still Joselyn. She was debating something of her own.

When she had first gone back to check on the others to make sure they got far away from the draining Plagg had mentioned, she spotted Otar surrounded by ashes, and a ring—an engagement ring—was also there. Jared had been planning on proposing to Camille, even before the bond clicked.

So she was the only one who knew about the ring, and was debating giving it to Camille. But that might make her grief worse…but she might want to know…

Eventually she grew bored of trying to be a normal person and using morals, and tapped into her power, which told her to keep the ring secret either forever or until Jared himself could give it to her.

So her opened her watch and put the ring inside.

Then she left to go looking for Joselyn.

**A/N: Otar is something that was confirmed by Driver3196 (who originally created Jared) would happen if Jared died from Totem Armor. **

**There will be a chapter about what Joselyn was doing during this time. She's a planeswalker, so anyone who knows MTG lore might be able to guess what she's doing right now.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33: Ravnica At War**

The last thing Joselyn saw was Kahu's blade coming down on Jared. She screamed, knowing she was about to watch the man who had become her second father die, and then everything went black. She never saw what became of Jared, but she feared the worst. Those thoughts were driven from her mind as her vision was filled with bright, flashing lights, and she felt herself get pulled somewhere else.

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted to a shiny blue skeleton attempting to bring a sword down on her. She did nothing to stop it, accepting her fate, and was puzzled when she felt a rush of heat flood over her. The strange skeleton was incinerated. Turning to the source, she saw a man in his mid-twenties. He had long brown hair, a muscular build, and wore boots, jeans, and a black tank top with goggles perched on his forehead. "You gotta watch out for those things kid," he said in a southern accent far stronger than Jared's. "The name's Jason." He extended a hand to help her up, and she realized that she had fallen onto the ground. She accepted the help up.

"Adelina," she responded, not wanting to let anyone know who she truly was. She quickly concealed her scars with her illusions, including her missing eye and the horrific word on her arm. She also altered her appearance, making herself look about fifteen and similar to Jared. "My name is Adelina. What is this place?" Jason smiled.

"I take it you've never been to Ravnica. It's usually pretty crappy, but you picked the worst time to visit. Not that the Interplanar Beacon really helps much."

"The what?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, we need to worry about not dying." He pointed off to the side, and Joselyn saw what he was talking about. A massive portal had been opened up in the streets of Ravnica, and an army of death greeted the world with a roar of desert air. Civilians screamed as more blue skeletons walked through, slaughtering everyone in their path. But it seemed that this world was not without its defenders. A large man in shining armor ran right into the fray, swinging a massive sword through the skeletons. Temporarily forgetting about the events she had witnessed not five minutes ago, Joselyn tensed up, ready for battle. "Shit," Jason muttered next to her.

"What's wrong?"

"My girlfriend, she's still in the chambers."

"And?"

"That's right where the Planar Bridge opened up." His eyes were filled with fear, and expression she had seen on Eli and Zoe before.

"We'll get her out," she assured him. "If she means anything to you, I'll personally make sure we get her out." He smiled at her.

"Thanks. Now, let's go roast some Eternals."

* * *

Chandra began to wonder if today could go any worse. Not only had she been trapped by the portal opening up, but Karn had lost an arm and Jaya had almost been cut in half. Even with only two humans down there, the amount of breathable air was getting low, and they didn't see any form of escape. The closest thing they had to a stroke of luck was that Karn didn't need air, being a silver golem, and could hold up the rubble indefinitely, keeping her and Jaya from getting crushed. They could hear the battle raging on outside, and were helpless to do anything. And to make matters worse, Jaya started coughing. Chandra rushed over to the older pyromancer. "Jaya, are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"A bit of fresh air would be nice," Jaya wheezed. "I'm old, child. Things like this happen." She doubled over into another fit of coughs. "You'll do fine without me, now go. Go get help."

"You both should leave," Karn said with a metallic rumble. "I'm not sure how long I can hold this."

Chandra nodded and attempted to planeswalk to Kaladesh, only to be pulled right back to Ravnica with the triangular symbol of the Azorius guild glowing yellow in front of her. Jaya frowned. "That's odd."

Chandra nodded. "Yeah, and that's bad, too." The trio quickly realized that they were truly trapped. Everyone on the surface was preoccupied, and they would suffocate before anyone even had time to look for them. They couldn't leave Ravnica, and couldn't even help those in trouble. For them, there truly was no escape.

* * *

Upon entering the mass of Eternals, Josylen discovered that the undead warriors weren't as scary as they seemed at a distance, if you knew how to fight, that is. She managed to pry the blade out of the hands of one of them and proceeded to start hacking away. She was soon joined by another warrior. He had tan skin, long, dark hair, a muscular build that reminded her of Jared, and a sword that would have Zoe drooling puddles. "Kid, you shouldn't be here," the man said. "It's not safe."

Josylen gave him a defiant glare. "I can handle myself, Mr… uh?"

"Gideon Jura," he said with a grunt as he cleaved two eternalized naga in half.

"I'm Adelina," Josylen lied as she took off the legs of a lazotep-coated khenra that was moving to strike Jason, who was distracted with sifting through the rubble near. "Like I said, I can handle myself." Gideon didn't look reassured. After a few more minutes of slashing, the Eternals started turning on each other. This seemed a rather odd, and Joselyn struggled to find the source. Then she noticed a man in a blue hood and cloak, creating illusions of the Eternals to hack and slash into the horde and sow chaos. Another man stepped up on her other side. He was a bald black man with a grey beard, white and blue robes, and a large staff. As he raised his arms, the Eternals began moving sluggishly, and she realized he had slowed down time! But even with the illusions and time magic, the number of undead warriors was growing at a rate that the four of them couldn't handle. The man in blue spoke first.

"Gideon," he called. "There are too many of them. We need to fall back and regroup."

"Jace is right," the black man agreed. "We need to be able to get close to Nicol Bolas, not get cut in half here." Gideon sighed, realizing that the Eternals were spreading into the city, and his actions here would be minimal if he was killed. The three ran off to find more allies, with Joselyn close behind them. All around, Ravnicans were beginning their counterattack, unleashing powerful spells and champions of their own. A young asain boy raised his small staff, and the dog at his side grew thirty times larger. Angels rushed through the sky, attacking airborne undead. An armored soldier, a man with crab arms, and a woman in a dark cloak ran past her, using clearly improvised yet deadly formations. Joselyn observed the widespread brutality she was caught up in, deciding quickly that she didn't want to be here, but here she was anyway. She escaped one war just to get caught up in the climax of another, a fight that she had no part in until now. People were screaming as the massive army slaughtered everyone in its path. Joselyn sank to her knees, covered her ears, and joined the chorus of terror.

* * *

Chandra blasted the wall with another fireball, spraying small fragments of rock, but nothing monumental. Jaya had to rest, and it was clear that they were running out of air. The screams outside were clear as day, and even Karn looked worried. Chandra readied another blast, but the older pyromancer stopped her. "You should rest, child. We only have so much breathable air left down here."

Chandra leaned against the wall, breaking into a short fit of coughs before standing back up. "They need us out there, Jaya," she mumbled. "We're no use down here."

"We're no use dead, either," Karn responded. "We must survive. If we do not make it out, there will be no one to detonate the cylex and destroy New Phyrexia."

"Will you shut up about that damn cylex," Jaya scolded. "We both know you're too gentle to actually use it. And you." She turned to Chandra. "You're sloppy and unfocused." The younger woman looked offended.

"Well _excuse me_ for being a little rattled after getting stuck in a collapsed building!" she retorted. Jaya heaved a heavy sigh.

"I understand, but you're going about your pyromancy all wrong. Your flame is fuelled by emotion, and that means more than using it as a vent for your frustration. Focus, focus on something you're passionate about. Not something that makes you angry, but that makes you happy. And then, burn." Chandra closed her eyes, slowly outstretched her hand, and did as Jaya instructed. Her eyes shot open, filled with a vibrant orange glow as flames wrapped around her body, and the largest blast of fire she had ever created shot towards the wall, blowing it open. She let out a sigh of relief before collapsing in exhaustion.

* * *

Jace ducked behind Gideon as more Eternals closed in on them. The larger man swung Blackblade in a wide arc, killing several undead soldiers, with several more taking their place. Planeswalkers from all over the multiverse were arriving on Ravnica, each one immediately getting caught up in a fight for their lives. Several of them were caught off guard and killed upon arrival. "Where's the kid?" Gideon asked. Teferi pointed into a mass of Eternals, and Gideon's face held an expression of horror as he saw the carnage that she had been caught up in. He ran back to find her, wading into the battle in search of Adelina.

"Does he always take the duty of protection so personally?" Teferi asked.

"You have no idea," Jace sighed.

* * *

Joselyn ducked through the dreadhorde army, dodging blades and spears. She looked around, trying to find someone familiar, smiling when she saw Gideon fighting his way towards her. She started making her way towards him, but was cut off as a large lazotep-plated manticore pounced in front of her. Its barbed, flaming tail flicked in her face as it snarled, attempting to skewer her. She started to move backwards, away from the safety of Gideon, but also away from the manticore. As she tried to move, she tripped, falling on her rear, and the manticore quickly closed the distance. Closing her good eye, she braced herself for death, feeling the heat of the flames of its tail on her face. And then the metallic clang. And the lions roar. She opened her eye to see a bipedal lion who stood taller than even Jared wielding a massive double-headed axe, blocking the blow from the manticore. He swung the axe into the Eternal, shards of lazotep spraying across the cobbled streets. He turned to Joselyn with a worried look. "It's not safe here," he said.

"I'm trying to get to Gideon," Joselyn responded. The leonin sighed.

"There are people taking refuge in the Orzhov church. It's much safer the-" he was cut off as the barb of the manticore's tail burst through his chest.

"Ajani!" a woman yelled in the distance. His breath was ragged and shaky as the manticore raised him into the air and launched him into the air. His body hit the edge of the Interplanar Bridge, ripping it to shreds. Ravnicans and planeswalkers alike looked on in shock and disbelief as Ajani perished. Joselyn was the first to recover, turning to the manticore with a fresh rage.

"Haven't you Eternals caused enough death today?" she asked, shaking with anger. Her fists began glowing a ghostly blue, and she summoned an illusion of a sleek, white, faceless creature and sent it towards the manticore, the two tearing each other apart in seconds. Nearby Eternals turned their attention on Joselyn, which she accepted. She threw several illusionary daggers into the oncoming crowd, removing several assailants in one blow. More of the faceless creatures were sent into the army, taking out dozens of Eternals at once. She quickly gained the upper hand against the army of death that moved in on her, but at a cost. She could feel her energy draining, sapping her strength with each illusion she cast. She began losing the upper hand as quickly as she had gained it. The circle of protection she had formed around her began shrinking as the tables turned against her. She saw the undead moving in, a bright light behind them, and for the fourth time today, Joselyn though she was going to die. And the bright light grew brighter and hotter, revealing to be a flame. Two women plowed through the dreadhorde surrounding her, one in red clothing and armor, using wild fiery attacks that would char multiple Eternals at a time, and the other much older in dark red robes, using precision shots to take out one Eternal at a time, but at a faster rate. They cleared out the undead in a flash, quickly regrouping to check on Joselyn. "Thanks," she said. "But I had it covered."

"That may have been, child," the older woman responded. "But look at it this way. Those blasted Eternals were dealt with far faster than if one person had been taking care of it all." The younger woman helped Joselyn to her feet.

"My name's Chandra Nalaar. What's yours?"

"Adelina Brock," Joselyn lied once more.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Here's to hoping that we all make it out alive. Right Jaya?" The older woman nodded as more Eternals swarmed in on them.

"Children, it appears we have visitors," Jaya remarked. The other two groaned. Jaya continued. "Well, it'd be rude not to give them a traditional Keral Keep welcome." She lowered her goggles over her eyes and proceeded to blast the nearest Eternal.

"Now that's a greeting I can get behind," Joselyn said with enthusiasm.

* * *

Gideon fought hard. The Dreadhorde had pushed its way deep into the city, forcing Ravnica's ten guilds to unite against their common foe. Izzet and Simic troops fought side by side. A Rakdos cultist was seen aiding an injured Selesnyan knight. The assassins of House Dimir were clearing a path to allow the Boros soldiers to more easily charge the invaders. The first time in millennia that the guilds had united, and it still wasn't enough. The Eternals had pushed their way into Selesnya territory, nearing the guild hall of Vitu-Ghazi. The Boros guild hall and airship Parhelion II provided heavy firepower to try and drive the invaders off, but they just kept coming. The statue of Nicol Bolas that had been erected in the distance seemed to glare down on the world in triumph, until Gideon heard a familiar sound. A green glow produced a woman at the top of Vitu-Ghazi, a woman that would likely turn the tide. He couldn't help but laugh. "I'd know that elf anywhere." He looked up, and the Eternals advanced on Vitu-Ghazi. At Nissa's command, Vitu-Ghazi advanced on them. The tree stood up, having been animated into a massive elemental, Nissa standing attop it, green mana swirling around her. She sent the tree forward, crushing massive swaths of Eternals underfoot until she reached the statue of the tyrant dragon, and Vitu-Ghazi smashed into it. The statue fell, and the spirits of every Ravnican were lifted. That is, until they heard a dragon's roar, and four massive beings emerged from the planar bridge, and were instantly recognized by Gideon, Jace, Chandra, and Nissa. They were the slain gods of Amonkhet, made even stronger with a coating of lazotep. The God-Eternals moved towards the elemental, the cobra-headed god Rhonas and the crocodile-headed god Bontu tearing the awakened tree apart, dashing the hopes of the Ravnican citizens as quickly as they had been raised.

* * *

Joselyn watched as the God-Eternals demonstrated their awesome power, but she wasn't the only one who was impressed. A planeswalker ran up and shouted at the citadel the dragon had created his throne. "Hey, dragon! The name's Domri Rade, master of the Gruul clans! You and I should be talkin', mate! We'd be great partners, and we could burn Ravnica to the ground!" The dragon in question had no interest in Domri Rade's proposal, instead looking to move forward with his own plans. A magical flare rose from his throne, and the sky grew dark. The screams of planeswalkers echoed in the plaza below as Eternals began harvesting their sparks. One such Eternal grabbed Domri from behind, his body quickly shrivelling, and the energy of his spark burst from the Eternal and flew towards Nicol Bolas. The Elderspell had been cast, and now every planeswalker was locked in a fight for more than their lives.

* * *

**How's it, it's Driver3196. Guest author for Carly the Llama due to her shaky knowledge of the MTG lore. This is one chapter of a three part arc telling what Joselyn experiences on the plane of Ravnica in War Of The Spark. Should you have any inquiries involving the lore surrounding War Of The Spark or Magic in general, feel free to PM me about it, and I'll get back to you on it as soon as possible. Until then, Driver out.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34: Welcome to Afterlife High School **

Jared jolted awake, and found himself on pavement. He tried to remember how he got there…

It was complete and utter mystery in his head as he sat up, he didn't know where he was. How did he get there? What to do? Where to go? He only heard a voice in his head...a name…"Jared Brock." Sadly, that wasn't particularly helpful at the moment. His memory was blurred, the past a complete blank. He didn't know anything and sat there.

Looking down at himself, he noted he was wearing black pants and a white shirt worn under a black blazer. A uniform…great! That meant he was a student, and there looked to be a high school down the hill!

Then he turned and saw a girl crouched down by one of the flower beds.

She had light skin, emerald eyes, and brown hair. She had her hair in a low ponytail, and she had a purple hair band, and wore a skirt over a white petticoat, white knee-high socks, and brown loafers. Most notable was the massive sniper rifle she was using.

She turned in his direction and he half-expected her to say, "Welcome to rifle club." But instead she said:

"If you're here, then that means you're dead." She shrugged, "But if we said that, it would sound like we're admitting we're dead, right?"

There were so many questions Jared wanted to ask. For example, who he was, who she was, why she had a gun, where he was, how he had gotten there…yet this was the question that came out of his mouth,

"Is that a real gun?" She groaned,

"Everyone who comes here says that. I'm Liana Sullivan. You?"

"Jared…Jared Brock." He got up and looked to where she was aiming. Below was a rather beautiful girl in a feminine version of the uniform he himself was wearing, which was different from Liana's, "So why are you aiming the gun at that random girl?"

"That's Angel. She is the rule enforcer, so she is our enemy. If you don't fight, she'll obliterate you." Jared looked down at the girl,

"So she's an angel? Why would she obliterate us?"

"That's what we _think_ she is since she will neither confirm nor deny anything." Liana said, "And it's what we call her. As to why she want to obliterate us, she works with God." Jared rubbed his head,

"Look, I am so confused. The only thing I know is my name, so can you not shoot that girl so I can talk to her?" Liana, to his shock, lowered her gun,

"If you tell me not to aim the gun at her, I won't. You can trust me." She frowned, "It's not normal for you to remember nothing, but maybe you just hit your head pre-death and will get them back soon. If you don't have your memory by the end of the month, then I will be curious." She shook her head a little, "Talk to her if you want. One interaction will show you that you want to be on my side."

"Okay. I just want to see both sides before picking one." He walked down the hill and walked up to the girl. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn't pinpoint it, "Hello."

Angel smiled, "Hello. You must be new. Welcome to Afterlife High. I'm the student council president."

"Afterlife High?" Still, the idea of being dead and ending up at a high school of all things was odd, so he turned around. This must be a weird dream, because he had woken up on a hill next to the rode, "Whatever, I'll just go to a hospital."

"There are no hospitals." She said, "Because nobody gets sick."

"Huh?"

To his shock, he heard a noise and saw the girl's hand had turned into a sword, and then ran him through.

When he woke up, he found himself on a couch, and heard a bunch of people bickering about death and resistances or something.

Jared looked around at his surroundings. It was a squarish office with a large wooden desk and a tall computer chair right in front of the double door. Two single-seat sofas, one triple-seat and a coffee table were in front of the desk. A few cupboards and paintings were at the corners of the room.

A young man with chestnut brown hair turned, "Oh hey! The new guy's awake!" Liana turned as well,

"Huh? He's conscious?" Liana bent down, "So do you have a name for this resistance?"

"Uh…nope. Sorry." Some other guy with raven hair and a lean yet muscular build got out a giant halberd and pointed it at him,

"How dare you insult Liana!" Enough was enough, Jared jumped up,

"Keep me out of this, dick! I don't know what the fuck is going on, and just because I don't know a name for your stupid resistance does not mean I insulted anyone! I just want to get out of here ASAP." Another guy pushed up his glasses,

"You want to get obliterated. Even though you just got here."

"Um, yeah!" Liana smacked the guy with glasses in the face,

"No, we are not kicking this guy out just yet. That's not the policy of…what's our name again?"

"Corn Barnacle Resistance." Wait what? Liana kicked another guy in the dick, and Jared was having a hard time keeping track of people with the person overload on his hands.

"Fuck it, it's the Afterlife Resistance." She pointed to the door, "You're safe here, Jared. In fact, the Resistance Headquarters is actually the Principal's Office. We took the office a while back and set up traps."

"Um…okay?" At this point, he just decided to roll with it and ask Liana questions as needed. She seemed to be the only reasonable person here, "So what's your goal here?"

"Our goal is to take out Angel, once and for all." Liana explained, "Then this whole world will belong to us. In the old world, death came after anyone, but in this world, if we keep fighting, we get a chance to truly live. You're new here and don't have your memories, so it's natural for you to feel a little confused. Just accept things as they are and we will answer any questions."

"So…accept things, and fight Angel. Got it." He then noticed a giant hammer on the other side of the doorway, "Is there any way to stop _that_?"

"With the password: there is no god, buddha, or angel."

Jared raised an eyebrow, "Why buddha and not other gods? Fuck buddhas?"

"Pretty much, and reincarnation is a popular belief around here. Nobody wants to come back as a corn barnacle or a water flea." She had a point there, that sounded boring as fuck.

And they a guy with white hair and a bandana covering his eyes appeared, "Come on! Let's dance!" Liana shrugged,

"Don't mind him. That's K—as we call him since he has only ever told us that as a name—we think he overdosed on weed and now he's high forever." She then gestured to the guy with chestnut hair, "This is Ben, my second in command." Ben waved cheerfully.

"So what's your name?"

"Jared. Don't ask anything else, because I don't know." Ben wrapped an arm around his shoulder

"Ah, the amnesia thing. Don't worry, it will come back eventually."

"Hey…" a girl with a warrior-esque vibe said from where she was looking Jared over, "Since he's a part of the resistance, shouldn't he get a uniform?" Liana nodded,

"Oh yeah! Thanks Amber! I totally forgot." Jared looked down at his torn up clothes,

"Why is my uniform different?"

"Yours isn't different." Liana explained, "Ours is. That's the normal student uniform. This is our uniform, welcome to the Afterlife Resistance."

OoOoO

Jared was on the roof of the school, watching students on track team below.

The resistance uniform was a beige long-sleeved collared uniform coat with buttons going down vertically on its right with pockets; the outer collar and sleeve-tips were rimmed with a chocolate-brown color. On the left shoulder was the resistance symbol—frayed angel wings with guns on both sides. Underneath he sported a maroon t-shirt.

He looked to Liana, who came up, "This school is huge."

"Oh, it's massive." She nodded to herself, "This place is basically it's own town. Over two thousand students all living in dorms." Jared looked down at the students again,

"What's with them?"

"Those are NPCs. They are the example of how we are _supposed_ to behave. But if we obey, we get obliterated. And before you ask, neither we or the NPCs age. Anything else?"

"Yeah…how violent is Angel? She stabbed me out of the blue."

"I saw that go down." She rolled her eyes, "I told you one interaction would have you joining us. Though normally it takes more to make her do that. She only shows up when we get new people here, and she then vanishes after a few weeks, so we need to work quickly. But maybe you just have that vibe or you did something to piss her off in life." She handed him a gun, "Here, locked and loaded. Now for your first mission. We need more weapons from the guild."

"This is going really fast." He massaged his temples, "I haven't even been here a full twenty-four hours." Liana clapped him on the back,

"Trust me, the more you move, the less existential crisis you will have, and you won't think about your age. I lost count after year eight."

"Wait what?!"

OoOoO

Morrigan brushed down her student uniform, and sat in the council chamber. All the members—except Cradh, because this didn't concern him, nor did he care—were waiting for her.

"So?" Micah asked, "Is he…?"

"He's joined the resistance." She said, "It's fun posing as the student council president. I guess I always needed a chance like this too."

A little context: most rehabilitations were separated because of domain, but the trauma rehabilitation for children with horrible lives was a mix of magical creatures, Fae, and normal humans. Micah, Empty and Fawn just loved to hear about the drama. This particular rehabilitation had been active for forty years.

They had wiped Jared's memories so he wouldn't accept death and move on—as the kids called being obliterated—and even if he got some back like he would have to eventually, his story was the death of his parents and then his first death at fifteen, when he was revived by Viirus and became Goreclaw. This would fit with what the other kids had gone through, and leave just enough anger that he would hopefully fight. If he accepted death, then they would have to step in more.

It wasn't that they couldn't revive him if Camille finally got Otar to power down and Jared had moved on, it would just be harder and have a less likely chance of him coming back right.

"So remember," Freya said, "You need to be a good role model to get the other kids to move on, but also be the 'bad guy' enough to prevent Jared from moving on."

"How's Kelly?" Morrigan asked. Freya shrugged,

"He still is suffering from the damage. He won't vanish or anything, but he's still pretty weak. Makane took one look at him, plopped him on the bed and made some soup and got to nursing him back to health." Morrigan smiled, knowing her massive sister had always had a soft spot for Kelly.

"Yeah…" Freya then got out a box of donuts, "Back on topic. You can't deny that the shit the Resistance pulls is funny, especially when we occasionally amuse ourselves by battling them."

"I feel bad for Liana though." Micah said, "Raised in a religious family that said her life story was all part of God's plan. Well, God doesn't exist—unless you count Kahu or Cradh—and even they didn't do much in the way of anything involving how humans behaved. With Kahu it was just your occasional mass murder, and Cradh only even goes down to the mortal world every now and then and I don't even know what he does down there. All there is… is us."

"Yeah…" Empty then pulled out some popcorn, "OH! They're in the guild!" Morrigan then put her hair in a braided ponytail,

"Want me to join them?"

"Yes! Do it!" Fawn winked,

"Make Jared even more confused."

OoOoO

So it turned out the guild was a warehouse on the edge of the area, but the pathway was underground, and apparently riddled with traps.

He wouldn't deny that he laughed a little when halberd guy got hit by a giant hammer.

"Okay, I have questions." Jared looked to Ben and Liana, "So I guess this means Angel isn't all omnipotent or all seeing, otherwise she would have seen and destroyed this place. Also, why are you all so concerned with dying, and setting up these death traps, if we don't stay dead."

Ashina—a small ginger girl with freckles—looked to halberd guy's flattened corpse, "Well, it's mainly a buffer, and also…it's just as painful to die here as it would be normally."

"That does not sound pleasant."

"It's not." Ben said with a shudder, "It's not at all."

They continued walking nonchalantly, and Jared turned to Liana, "What kind of traps are there?"

"All kinds. Basically every cliché in the book." Then Jared started running, because he heard a sound and because he knew enough is the recesses of memory he had—pop-culture—his body knew what was up before his mind fully did.

Giant boulder rolling at them.

"Shit!" He cursed, stumbling on a loose floorboard. The others ran past him as he got up, and he yelped, expecting to be run over, only for Ben to dramatically leap to his rescue and push them both to the side.

Adam, the one with glasses, was unfortunate and didn't make it to the exit in time, and got run over by the boulder.

Jared gaped, before looking up at Ben, "Thanks." Ben winked,

"Don't sweat it. We gotta stick together." Jared's eyes widened,

"Dude, are you hitting on me?" Ben suddenly got defensive,

"NO! I just want to be friends, idiot!"

They proceeded into the next room, which looked more high-tech than the others. Liana looked to Ashina,

"Will it open?" Ashina grunted, trying to pry open the door with Amber's help.

"Nope. Damn thing won't budge." Then the door behind them closed, "Crap! I forgot this one locks it's victims inside!" Jared turned to Ashina,

"Don't forget important details!"

The room lit up and a laser came at them.

"Duck!" Liana shouted, "Those things will cut your body clean in half!" Everyone ducked, then jumped as another one came out of the wall, lower this time.

When the third one came, Jared gaped,

"Oh come on! The first two you can get around, but an X one!? That's just a game developer being a dick!"

Evan grabbed everyone and threw them over the laser, only to get cut into at least four pieces.

Jared gaped at the horrific sight, and Liana turned him away.

"Don't even look. Not even looking." Amber finally got the door open and Jared took a moment to sit down on the other side, processing what he had just seen.

Ben sat down next to him with a bright smile, "If you get cut into pieces, you'll still come back."

"H-How exactly does that work?"

"I don't know. Maybe your hands crawl around and fuse with your body again. Or maybe all those pieces grow minds of their own and go on their merry way." Jared shuddered,

"I don't know if I'd want to live after that."

"Come on." Ashina helped Jared up, "We need to get going. Chiso's probably lonely enough as it is."

"Chiso?" He wanted to help, but there were so many things going on that he was going to spend time today just trying to understand what he could

"He makes our weapons." Safiya explained, "So up to it, we have places to be and Chiso to see!"

The next room didn't seem all that bad…until the ceiling started to close on them.

K was the one who stood up and kept the ceiling from crushing them,

"Go! Run to him! Guys, remember, I love you!"

And nobody gave a fuck.

"Thanks."

"Thanks, K."

"Remember we're meeting for dinner tonight."

Jared looked to everyone once they were safely out of that section, "So…how many times have you seen each other die to cease giving a damn like that?"

"Many." Amber replied.

And then the floor gave out from under them.

"Damn! I forgot about this one too!" Ashina shouted as she fell to her death with Safiya. Jared wanted to scream, "I fucking hate you!" because this was the _second_ time!

Liana was able to grab onto the only solid ledge, and was holding onto Amber's hand, who was holding onto Ben's, who was holding onto Jared's.

"Jared! You have to climb up!" Liana shouted, "I can't hold onto all three of you for long!"

Trying to ignore the awkwardness of this, he obeyed, helping pull the others up once he was safe on the ledge.

On the other side was a body of water. Liana turned to him,

"Hope you can swim." Jared looked apprehensively at the water,

"Is there anything dangerous down there?"

"Yeah. These crazy vines that drown you if they grab you." Amber replied, jumping in. Ben shrugged,

"Just don't get caught."

It took a minute for Jared to figure out how to swim, but he got the hang of it fast enough.

The swim itself wasn't bad, because there was no limit to the amount of oxygen they had, being dead and all. But apparently that didn't make getting captured by the creepy vines any worse.

Surprisingly, nobody re-died here. Jared had half-expected all of them except a one or two to die.

Amber and Ben turned to Liana and Jared, "We'll go ahead," Ben said, "Make sure to set off any traps. Besides, you know Chiso is more comfortable with me." Liana pursed her lips before nodding,

"Right. Good luck, you two." The two went off, and Jared looked to Liana,

"So what happens if we fall down a hole and just can't get out? What do you do then? I saw the ladder by the ditch where Ashina and Safiya fell, but what if?"

Liana didn't grace him with a response, simply continuing to walk.

Now, Jared didn't know anything about himself, but he did know he was intuitive enough to know the resistance leader was upset.

"Are you alright?" Liana turned,

"I'm fine." For a moment, there was a flash, and in Liana's place he saw a girl no older than twelve. She was covered in scars too clean to be accidental. She had that same fake smile, and said those same words.

"Jared?" Jared snapped back to reality when he noticed Liana was staring at him with a questioning expression, "You were crying." He placed a hand on his cheek and noticed it was indeed wet.

"Probably just the water from the trap. Maybe we should get our clothes dried off before winding up in another Anti-Angel trap."

"Yeah." Liana shrugged, "There's a spot over here. The next one is electric."

So they stripped to their undergarments and Liana used a water power to slowly suck all the water out of the clothes. In that time, Jared decided to ignore that he and a beautiful woman were practically naked in close vicinity, and started trying to learn more about this place while Liana worked on drying the clothes.

"How did you become leader?"

"I was the first to fight. That's all. Cosmo arrived the same time I did, though I am not sure if he hadn't been floating around for long before that."

That name was new. "Cosmo?"

"You should be meeting him tonight." Okay…

"Why did you want to fight?" Liana smiled bitterly,

"Unlike you, I kept my memories. I was the eldest of four siblings, with two younger sisters and a younger brother. We lived with out parents in a middle-class residence—well middle-class for the Fae, by human standards we were quite wealthy—and were very well off in life, with a big house and not a care in the world." She sighed, and Jared knew this was going to take a dark turn,

"When our parents left the house one night for a work meeting or something—saying I needed to watch my siblings overnight, but they trusted me—a group of robbers broke in and attempted to rob the house. But they couldn't find where the valuables were, so they turned to me, the eldest, to take them to the family's prized possessions. They required I bring them valuables or else they would kill off my little siblings with Faebane laced bullets at ten-minute intervals… But I wasn't sure which items were valuable, and fell while carrying a large vase that must have been valuable down the stairs. The police arrived thirty minutes after that…I was the only one left. I had never been told by my parents where in the house the expensive items were kept." Jared's eyes were wide as Liana chuckled humorlessly,

"After that, when my parents started blaming me and falling into destructive habits, I began to question life in a deeper manner. Why did my siblings have to die when they were just innocent children? How could I have lost everything within thirty minutes? My grandparents, therapists, even friends, said it is all part of God's plan. So if that is true, how could I forgive God for what happened?"

Jared was gaping, "_Wow_. That police response time…seriously? And what the hell kind of psycho burglars—?! I may be an amnesiac, but I don't think that's how you properly burgle someone!" His horrified response got a genuine laugh out of her,

"I've asked myself the same thing countless times. People here on the Resistance think they were smoking something." Still, that left one question.

"Liana…How did you die?"

"I died from being hit by a car after being kicked out of the house." She turned, and how defensive she became made Jared feel kind of suspicious, "What? You think I would commit suicide?! Then what's the point of fighting here? And for your information, _nobody_ in this world died by suicide. A lot of us got hit by cars, so just assume a truck came along when in doubt."

"Sorry if I pried too much." Liana shrugged,

"It's fine. You're not the only one to wonder if _that_ was my cause of death." She handed him back his clothes, "They're dry now. You should get dressed." So he did, waiting for Liana's clothes to finish drying. At this point, Liana was dressed and there was a ball of water floating next to her. At his odd look, she grinned as though she hadn't just been talking about her terrible life, "I have a water affinity."

"Thanks." Jared decided one more question couldn't hurt, "What if there is no God?"

"The only reason I want there to be one is so I can have someone to put a bullet through." She replied, "And if there isn't, that doesn't change the plan to get rid of Angel and take this world for ourselves. That way I can help kids like us to have a second chance at life."

A second chance. _That's_ what she wanted to achieve. When he thought about it, that made sense. Angel was the thing stopping them from having freedom to get the second chance they wanted, so of course they wanted rid of her.

Ben came running to them, "Traps are disarmed now, come on! Chiso is actually eager to meet the new guy!" Liana brightened,

"Great!" She grabbed Jared's hand, "Come on!" Then they were running until they were in a lab of some sort. There was a boy working at the counter, seemingly building a sword. He turned and Jared got a good look at him,

He was a young man, about 5'11, who had the vibe of someone friendly, but quiet. He had green eyes and dark-orange hair tied in a short ponytail. He was wearing light blue pants with a white shirt. Interestingly, he also carried a Wakizashi.

"Hello." Chiso greeted, extending a hand, "You must be Jared." Jared took the shorter man's hand and shook it. He then noticed that, hidden under his hair, Chiso had two scars on his head. He decided not to say anything.

"Chiso, have you got new weapons?" Liana asked. Chiso nodded, giving her the sword and a couple guns in a bag, along with plenty of ammunition.

"Will these work?"

"Perfect!" Liana gave Jared a gun. Then he looked around,

"Where's Amber?"

"We got an alert earlier of motion." Ben explained, "Might be some others coming back, but it could be Angel."

"Shouldn't we check it out too?" Liana nodded, and led Jared in a different direction from whence they came, which took them straight to where they had started. He gaped, "Why didn't we use this before?!"

"You can only open it from Chiso's area, and we wanted to test you." Liana replied, then gasped when she saw Amber battling Angel—who seemed almost bored, teleporting around and turning invisible at moments.

Angel looked at him, smiling a little. Why was she smiling? Didn't she want them not to rebel?

Then everything was frozen. Jared was the only one who wasn't, he and Angel.

"I see you made your choice." She said softly. He glared,

"I'm just trying to figure out what exactly is going on _without_ being stabbed by the student council president! Not exactly the best way to get allies."

"I know." Angel replied, her eyes holding something more than a normal girl, but definitely not an angel. Devil? Maybe. "But I can tell you suspect things are more than they seem. They think I'm the bad guy. The only reason I am aggressive to you, is because you are different than them."

"Different?" He looked at himself, he didn't look any different, "How so? I'm just a normal guy with amnesia. Unless you have something to do with my lost memory." She put a finger to her lips,

"I will neither confirm nor deny. Farewell Jared, I know we will be getting to know each other quite well." In that moment, time resumed and Angel was gone.

"Where's Angel?!" Liana looked around. Jared was staring blankly at where Angel had been moments ago.

"She's the reason I have amnesia." He exhaled, "She did something!" If she hadn't, she would have denied it. And she said he was different. How was he different?

Ben and Amber frowned, "So she just left and said she's the reason you have amnesia?"

"Not exactly."

Liana huffed, "Well, at least she didn't get to Chiso and now we have a lead. Maybe your memories are the key to get rid of her?"

"I hope so."

OoOoO

That night, Jared was cleaning himself up in a spare room. Liana had mentioned this wasn't going to be his actual room, but it worked for the time being. She had told him to try looking nice, so he was wearing a nice white shirt and black pants, which he wouldn't do normally, but he had no idea what this was supposed to be.

He wanted to demand Angel tell him what happened to his memory, but Liana had been proven right that the student council president would sometimes disappear without a trace. It was almost as though she only came out when she wanted to be found. So he had nothing really better to do than go to dinner. Might as well get to know the other members.

Liana came in a moment later, the door still half closed, "Are you decent?"

"I guess." She then came in, revealing she was wearing a silver dress that made her eyes stand out. It wasn't quite formal, but also not casual in any way.

"You look nice." She took his hand, "Come on, the rest of the Resistance is waiting."

She guided him to a different warehouse, where Chiso and Ben were outside the door, grinning.

Liana sauntered towards Chiso and Ben, giving Jared the option to stay or join.

"Come on Jared," Ben said playfully, seeing the new recruit standing a short distance away, "We don't bite. Unless you want us to."

Surprise sparked within Jared, setting his feet moving.

Liana put her hands on her hips, "The last I heard, Ben, no one has _ever_ taken you up on that."

"You never know. Some people see that as affection according to books I read." Liana rolled her eyes,

"Your parents needed to teach you more about affection."

"What? All they did was hurt each other." Ben snapped, "And then father remarried to a total bitch! Me learning from him would not end well!" Jared was surprised how Ben casually brought up a part of his past most people would try to hide. Ben gestured to Liana's dress, "So fancy tonight, sister. And you made poor Jared dress up too!"

"Welcome," Was all Chiso said, his voice low, almost flat. He was no longer cheerful as Jared had seen, it was almost as though that grin a moment ago had exhausted him.

Amber came bounding out, and held out a brutally scarred hand to Jared as a greeting. The shape of it was normal—but the skin…it looked like it had been swirled and smudged and rippled. Burns. They must have been horrific if even them all being dead had not been able to heal them. He wondered how he hadn't noticed them before, before remembering she had been wearing gloves.

But the word Ben had used a moment ago snagged Jared's attention as he released Amber's hand and tried not to look too eager to step back to Liana's side. "You're siblings?" The two looked similar, but only in the way that people who had come from the same place did.

Liana clarified, "Siblings in the way all the outcasts are. We do refer to each other as 'brother' and 'sister' so get used to it."

"The idea of having you all as siblings sounds like a nightmare after seeing the events of last night and this morning." Jared quipped immediately.

Ben tipped his head back and laughed, a full, rich sound that bounced off the stones of the house. Chiso's brow flicked up with approval.

Liana's face was expressionless, but her eyes were wary. Assessing. Jared almost demanded what the hell she was looking at, when Safiya breezed to the door with, "If Ben's howling, I hope it means Jared told him to shut his fat mouth." Amber rolled her eyes,

"You and Liana, always with the fancy clothes." Safiya was wearing a red flowing gown, and her black hair was in a messy high bun.

Safiya sketched a brow at Amber—who was still wearing her dirty uniform, and her dirty blonde hair was a total mess falling out of her ponytail. Jared tried not to slump with relief at the sight of the fine clothes. At least he wouldn't look overdressed.

"I wanted to impress Jared." Safiya defended, "He's the first guy around here in years who isn't one of you assholes. _You_," She looked to Amber, "Could have at least combed your hair."

"Unlike some people," Amber said, "I have better things to do with my time than sit in front of the mirror for hours."

"We have company," was Chiso's soft warning. Safiya patted him on the shoulder,

"Relax, Chiso—there will be no fighting tonight. We promised Liana." Safiya grabbed Jared, "Sit with Ben and form a bromance while the rest of us drink." Jared had enough dignity to not look to Liana for confirmation that it was safe. "Unless you'd rather drink."

Jared looked around the room, and saw Miles—the guy with the giant halberd—in the corner, "I'd rather drink."

The dining room door burst open on a whispering wind. The young man who came through the door was several inches shorter than Jared, his raven hair messy, tan skin, and his face—handsome, though bordering on plain—was bored, if not mildly irritated. Jared had no idea who this person was since he hadn't been at the Guild operation like everyone else. Then he realized this must be Cosmo.

His platinum eyes were unlike anything Jared had ever seen, both all-seeing and unseeing at the same time. A glimpse into the creature he knew in his bones wasn't human. Or hadn't been born that way. Everyone else seemed to practically disappear in comparison to the power thrumming from this one being.

Safiya groaned, slumping in a chair and pouring herself some wine before passing the bottle around. Ben actually seemed a little afraid. The others didn't seem all that bothered however—Ashina even looked intrigued.

"Evening Cosmo." Adam greeted, "Didn't think we'd be seeing you." Cosmo ignored him and continued to examine Jared,

"Your taste in recruits remains excellent, Liana May." May? Must be a second name.

Cosmo took a step closer, and though he stood half a foot taller, Jared had never to his admittedly limited knowledge felt meeker. Then the unsettling young man smiled,

"So there are two of us now." Jared's brows nudged towards each other in confusion, so Cosmo clarified, "We who were born something else—and found ourselves trapped in new, strange bodies. Whether knowing or unknowing on your part, we shall see."

Jared decided he _really_ didn't want to know what Cosmo had been before. But maybe this was what Angel had meant by "different."

Miles shot upright and paled, "Wait, he's not human?!" Jared once again looked at his hands, and then felt the tips of his ears to see if they were pointed like Adam's, Liana's, and Amber's. Nope. Not Fae.

Cosmo sat down and poured some wine for himself, "He's Daemati at the very least. Though that ability seems to sleep." Ben question answered Jared's oncoming one,

"He's a mind mage!?"

"As I said, we'll see." Cosmo replied simply. Jared saw Liana's curious expression, and found himself shrugging. He'd find out when he got his memory back, and everyone here had faith it would indeed return. Worst case he would force it out of Angel when she appeared again.

"Can you just get to the point." Amber begged, "I'm starving."

K—and if he really was this Daemati thing, Jared was going to find out what that guy's name was—was dancing off to the side and then spinning on his head. "Easy come easy go."

Cosmo's head tilted to the side as he studied Jared, who tried not to shrink from it. "Only once before was a human _made_ into an immortal. Interesting it should happen again, and with another Daemati. But he was gifted new life—not a new body. And you, boy…" He stared even more intently, and Jared had never felt so bare, "Your very blood, your veins, your bones were remade. A mortal soul in an immortal body. So how and why did you end up here?"

"Beats me." Jared replied, trying to hide his discomfort, "Amnesia, remember?"

"Okay." Evan stood up, completely fed up, "I'm grabbing the food now." He walked off and came back with a bunch of burgers and fries. Not formal in the slightest. The sweater and jeans would have been much more appropriate. Damnit!

Ben turned to Jared and started to explain, "Cosmo and Liana have been here the longest. He works as an inside man of the sort, so he isn't an official member of the Resistance. And they could talk for hours and bore us to tears, so don't bother waiting for them to dig in." Jared looked to where the two were talking,

"Are they dating?"

"Not…exactly." Ashina said, "They are definitely more than just friends, having been here both for at least forty years. Cosmo used to be Liana's second in command before Ben, since Cosmo had no interest in that position, and was instead given the job of spymaster. We've caught them, Liana and Cosmo, making out from time to time. But I think it's more lust and familiarity than actual love. Miles doesn't like it though and wants to actually date Liana."

"Shut up." Miles snapped. Safiya flipped him off. Evan slammed his hands on the table,

"Everyone wants to talk-talk-talk," he gave a warning glare at Ben, who had indeed opened his mouth, "Can't we eat-eat-eat, and _then_ talk?"

Chiso chuckled slightly at Evan, but picked up his burger. Jared followed suit, waiting until Chiso had taken a bite before doing so. Just in case—

Good. Really fucking good. And the wine…he hadn't even realized Safiya poured him a glass until he had finished it. She clinked her glass against his and Ben's.

"Don't let this old busybodies boss you around."

Miles frowned at Cosmo's untouched plate, "I always forget how bizarre that is." He unceremoniously took the plate, dumping half the contents onto his own plate and offering some to Jared, who took it reluctantly, not wanting to be stabbed in the face by the giant halberd.

Liana sighed, "What have I said about asking before you do that?" Miles flushed,

"Sorry Liana!"

"You don't eat?" Jared found himself asking Cosmo, "Actually why do we eat if we're all dead?"

"Preference." Liana answered, as Cosmo gave a serpentine grin, "And Cosmo does eat…just not this kind of food."

"Gods above," Ben was slightly green, gulping his wine desperately, "Can we _not_? We're already reduced to just wine to ensure we all behave! I don't want to risk anyone vomiting."

It was in that moment that Jared decided he didn't want to know what Cosmo ate, either.

Liana chuckled, "Remind me to have family dinners more often." Family dinners, not official Resistance gatherings. How long has they all known each other? And Jared was now suspecting he could show up in sweatpants and a nightshirt, maybe even shirtless, and nobody would have cared. A unique group indeed.

Across from him, a cocoon of silence seemed to pulse around Chiso, even as the others dug into their food. Jared looked at Chiso's eyes, then back to Amber's burned hands. K was still dancing in the corner.

Jared hesitated, "Amber…what happened to your hands?" Amber shrugged, and he was relived she wasn't uncomfortable with the question.

"My execution. While I might not look it, I'm a special breed of Fae called a Okte. We're a rather brutal race of Fae, designed specifically for combat. Bastard children were particularly hated though. So me, being one—gender doesn't matter at all—once my mother weaned me and I was able to walk, they dropped me off at a distant training camp, and chucked me into the mud to see if I would live or die."

"It would have been smarter throwing you off a cliff." Miles muttered, and Jared smacked him upside the head on reflex, only to get the halberd pointed at him,

"Yeah, that's right dickwad!" Jared snapped, "Try and get the blood out of this _white_ shirt!" Amber rolled her eyes,

"Jared, it's fine. And Miles is right. Especially because when I was eighteen and strong enough to go back to the camp I'd been born in, I learned those pricks worked my mother to death. I avenged my mother, then was flogged to death while forced onto hot metal."

Again that silence fell—different this time. The tension and simmering anger of a unit who had endured so much, survived so much before their deaths…and felt each other's pain keenly.

Jared froze at how Amber managed to shrug off a death like that as though she was telling a casual story, "You're serious?" She nodded, pulling her long dirty blonde hair over her shoulder and revealing part of her back which had many whip scars.

"We all have the scars we died with. But an injury we had heals. If one of us was paralyzed during life, we wouldn't be paralyzed here, but the scars would remain. These ones are more visible since I died from them."

Liana shrugged, "Jared knows my story already. Anyone else want to share?" Safiya shrugged,

"I was a dreamer in a world of pain." She said, "I didn't get out alive. I'll explain details some other time."

Chiso visibly shrank down when the mention of telling their story came up, so Jared didn't want to ask him. Miles got up with a nonchalant hand gesture,

"I was born to a wealthy merchant family, with two sisters and parents who only cared about their money and social standing. My mother died when I was eight; my father lost his fortune three years later. He sold everything to pay his debts and maintain the facade of us still being wealthy—including my epilepsy medications—eventually moved us into a hovel, and didn't bother to find work while he let us slowly starve for years. I kept the family alive if not near starvation at times, for five years. Until I had a seizure while hunting and froze to death in the snow since I couldn't move."

"Oh…" Jared looked to the halberd, "Was that your hunting tool?" Miles nodded,

"Yeah. I still hunt. So you're welcome for supplying the meat." Maybe he wasn't as much of a prick as Jared had originally thought…

Chiso was shaking, and Liana sighed, "That's enough for now. We'll retire for the night and meet at headquarters in the morning. Jared, you and Ben will be roommates. We always go in pairs so Angel doesn't attack in your sleep, but Ben has been on his own for a while."

Ben got up eagerly, "Come on, Jared!" He led him to the fifth floor of the school, and down the hall to a brown door, "Sorry about the mess, I didn't think I was finally getting a roommate." He opened the door and Jared noticed that the dorm was basically a small apartment.

At the far end of the room where the beds were, one of the beds was to the left of the window, and it has a white pillow, light grey sheets, and a grey comforter. The other bed was to the right, having a blue pillow, light blue sheets, and a blue blanket. At the end of each bed was a brown wooden desk, including a chair with the same color as their bed. At least two brown shelves were to the side of each bed, full of books and other objects.

"Wow." Ben gaped, "There was not another bed earlier. The grey will change. Mine went from grey to blue while I wasn't here. Maybe an NPC changed the sheets? Don't know." He changed into pajamas and Jared did the same, surprised there were already clothes in his style and size in the dresser on his side.

"So Ben," Jared hopped into bed, "What's with Chiso? Is he okay? Of everyone here…"

"Chiso's story is one of the worst." Ben said, "His story is also different, since he was forced to do terrible things, instead of having terrible things happen to him." Jared thought about that and realized that would make sense, if he was guilty for whatever happened.

"What about you? Are you comfortable telling your story? I kind of want to know what kind of people I'm working with so I can prepare myself for whatever my memory holds." Ben sat up in bed,

"Mine isn't as bad as the others. My parents fought a lot, and my father would hurt me and my mother. Eventually mother got fed up and left. She tried to take me with her, but my father was a judge for divorce cases, so he won very quickly due to a corrupt system. Later, he was going over a divorce case and ended up banging the wife. And then he gave the abusive mother full custody of the daughter, and managed to get the father charged with insanity. Oddly enough that man became the president a little over a year later, not long after the daughter ran away from home. So I got a stepmother and a stepsister—since the mother was pregnant when filing the divorce—and both she and I were abused from both mother and father. Constantly screamed at that everything was our faults. Fortunately I took the blunt of the physical abuse, and managed to let my stepsister be neglected, which was a lesser of two evils. I grew very close to my stepsister, Joselyn. She was three years old and the smartest kid I had ever met. But…she was taking those words shouted at her to heart. She started blaming herself for everything, even things she was barely involved in. It broke my heart to see that precious little girl breaking, so I promised that I would get us out as soon as I could, and we would be free and she could be happy. But moments after making that promise, I felt horrible pain, and then I died."

"What killed you?" Jared asked. Ben shrugged,

"Don't know. It happened so fast. If I had to guess, a cerebral hemorrhage. Father hit me with a beer bottle more times than one, and one time it shattered upon impact. But it's still hard knowing I never got Joselyn out of that shithole."

He didn't know what to say to comfort his roommate. He didn't know if this 'Joselyn' was okay or not. So he gave a reassuring smile,

"I'm sure she's good. If she's as smart as you say, she would manage to get out. Maybe she found her real father?" Ben sighed,

"I hope so." He yawned, "It's late. Try to get some sleep, because Liana gets pissy if anyone's late for the meetings. Also, I hope you have quite the endurance. You'll need it."

Jared laid down in bed, "Thanks—I guess."

OoOoO

Morning came, and the Resistance was back in their uniforms and in headquarters where they ate breakfast with the meat courtesy of Miles.

"Um…" Jared was starting to feel really dumb with all the questions, but he was new and clueless, "Why do we eat separate from everyone else? There is a cafeteria downstairs."

"Because that counts as acting like the good students." Liana explained, "And could get us obliterated. Besides, we have Fae, Miles, and Evan—gardeners, hunter, and chef. We have what we need. Y'all ready for today's operation. No Jared, this isn't a daily thing. But Cosmo gave me more information last night." Safiya stood up,

"I take it you'll need me to provide distraction." Before Jared could even think of a reason to ask questions, Ben started explaining,

"At times like this, we use Safiya to divert their attention. The others are pretty trendy for NPCs, and Safiya is the closest to a pop star we've got. Everyone on the Resistance likes metal music, but we've seen what the NPCs like, and Safiya knows how to please people."

Liana nodded, "Right. Now, this next operation is another attempt to infiltrate Angel's domain. She comes and goes as she pleases, unlike us, but since Jared arrived she's been acting stranger than normal. Cosmo gave me reports that she goes into her room and writes in a journal of some sort. We need to retrieve that journal. It might explain what she is, what her endgame is, or why she wiped Jared's memory."

"Sounds like a plan." Adam said, "K and I will start putting up posters." K was still dancing. Jared blinked,

"Does he ever stop?" Everyone sighed collectively,

"No."

A couple hours later, Jared was walking back to his room after yet another unsuccessful search for Angel. Maybe if he tried to have a normal conversation with her, she would explain and they wouldn't have to break into her room. While she was the enemy, it still felt like a violation of privacy.

Instead, he saw Safiya sitting against the wall, strumming her guitar quietly. It wasn't a guitar one would use for metal music, just a normal guitar.

"Safiya?" She looked up at him.

"Oh. Hey Jared. I was just thinking." She put the guitar down, getting up, "Now I'm getting a drink. Care to join?" He shrugged, having nothing better to do. And maybe she would help him look for Angel. Wasn't like she was practicing for the performance or anything.

They both grabbed some scotch and looked out from where they stood on the roof.

"Safiya, how often do you do those performances?"

"Occasionally." She replied, "I asked if I could do a ballad this time, but Liana refused. Might not be enough of a distraction."

"Why?" He shrugged, "As long as there are no explosions in the background, they shouldn't give a shit."

"You never know. We've had operations go south before." She finished off her drink, "But you're right, again."

"Again?" She smiled, maybe a bit tipsy—it was in this moment that Jared wondered why teenagers had access to alcohol, even though most of them had been there long enough to technically be adults.

"In life." She then sat on the railing, with a fall below that could easily kill her if she wasn't already dead, "Jared Brock of Blight."

Blight? "What?"

"The war had taken its toll." Safiya explained, "Most of the world was left a wasteland. Africa and South America had been stripped of all natural resources, Asia had been the victim of multiple direct nuclear attacks, and Europe—the main theater for the war—was left in smoldering ruins. Only North America was left standing, and it flourished. Over the years after the war, the American Empire rose from the ashes of the broken world, with advances in science, technology, and medicine that put historic breakthroughs like the splitting of the atom to shame. But the American Empire was selfish. While other nations attempted to rebuild, the Empire's government refused to assist, for it feared that sharing its resources and technology would only equip the world for another war. While this was a reasonable fear, it gave rise to multiple resistance groups throughout the dead world that wanted to cut the throat of this last edifice of civilization in hopes of benefitting the rest of the world."

"So was I a general for the resistance groups?"

"No. An American general. You see, while the resistance had a fair point, they went about it the wrong way. The main enemy was called Ladybug. She would capture people and basically turn them into monsters, akumas. My family was taken captive and tortured, since they worked for America. I got away, just barely. I was half-dead, still running for my life, when you found me, gave me a second chance." Jared smiled, relieved there was a person who knew who he had been,

"So what? I was some sort of hero?"

"Yeah." She nodded, "After that day, I never saw you again. But I took my second chance and found a love for music. I dreamed of a better world, so I decided to do what I could and try inspiring people through music. Unfortunately, Viperion—Ladybug's assassin—came for me before I could really achieve what I wanted to."

"Sounds like other than that one regret, you improved your life."

"Oh I have plenty of regrets." She looked down at him, "And I was living on the streets the entire time because I hated everywhere the system had a minor go. Admittedly I just made it easy for Viperion to find me."

Miles came up the stairs, "There you two are. It's time. And Jared, Liana says that it will be too suspicious if you go for the notebook, with how you are looking for Angel, so you are going to stay backstage and make sure things go according to plan—as in Angel doesn't attack Safiya."

"Alright." Staying with Safiya did give him more information about himself, so he didn't see a problem. If Safiya didn't know, he would have insisted to go with the rest of the Resistance.

An hour later

Jared was standing by the wall near the dressing room when Safiya came out.

She was wearing a small purple, sparkly dress, with short sleeves. It has a blue belt with a silver star on it. She also wore purple high-heel boots. Her hair was down her back and curled just a touch.

"You look great." He said, and she blushed,

"Thanks." She picked up the guitar one would use for metal music, "Well, wish me luck."

Jared found that even after ten minutes, things were going smoothly. Was Angel the only one to enforce the rules? Did this not count as a school activity? He could tell that Safiya wrote her own songs, since he did remember songs, and he had never heard these ones.

Liana then appeared next to him,

"It's done." She said, "But we have an issue. It's encased in some form of technology we haven't seen before. Cosmo's working on it right now. Mission success."

Safiya's song ended, and Jared nodded in her direction to tell her she didn't need to provide distraction anymore. She went to go to him, but then paused, picking up her normal guitar and playing one more song.

"What is she doing?" Liana asked in a whisper-yell, "The mission is over!"

"Well now there is no reason for her to not do a ballad." He went back to listening to Safiya sing. She was looking in his direction for a moment with a smile,

The song was really pretty, soft, and the crowd all held up lights.

"Looks like you might have somehow captured Safiya's heart." Liana said encouragingly, "Didn't think that would happen. Did you two know each other in life? She isn't normally this eager with the guys, no matter how hot they are."

"1) Yes, apparently we met each other. 2) I only know that because she told me, but I myself have no clue."

Safiya came back over to Jared, and Liana backed up.

"I see you finally did that ballad." He looked out at the still cheering crowd, "I think they liked having a soft song."

"They did." Safiya bit her lip, "Jared, there's something I've wanted to tell you. She stood on her tip-toes, and for a moment he worried she was going in for a kiss, but instead she whispered into his ear, "Go find your mate, she's waiting for you. I will always be grateful to you. I've wanted to say it for years, and now I can finally say it: thank you."

The unexpected happened immediately after she said those words.

She vanished. Blinked out of existence. Stopped existing.

Liana's eyes were wide, horrified. Then she glared at Jared, who was stunned,

"What did she say to you?!"

"Something about mate, and then she thanked me for something that happened in life." He replied, "And then she was gone." He gestured to where Safiya had been moments before, "Where did she go?! What just happened?!"

"S…She's been obliterated." Liana got out. She was shaking, "She's not coming back. _Ever_. Obliteration is the only way someone here can truly die." He looked again to the spot she had been. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angel smiling. He turned to confront her, only to see she either was gone or hadn't been there to begin with.

"Angel did this?" Liana nodded,

"From what we've observed, that's the most likely case." He clenched his fists and walked past her,

"Show me that journal. I'm going to see what I can do."

OoOoO

After reverse-engineering the technological box the journal was kept in, Jared shut himself in his room, with only Ben allowed in—being his roommate, he wasn't going to kick him out unless he got too annoying. And he read the entire journal.

Or rather, diary. He no longer cared about violating privacy if Angel had basically murdered his friend and only source of information on who he was.

_Dear Diary,_

_It's only been a day and everything is going according to plan. Jared has joined the Resistance, and he may be the key to helping the others—Safiya at least, and Ben if he somehow gets his memory back. Maybe keeping him here without his memories to prevent him from accepting things can kill two birds with one stone._

So he was special somehow. And why would Angel care about helping Safiya if she obliterated the person she was supposedly trying to help? And something in his memory would help Ben? He had go many questions, but then he deflated when he got to the next page.

_Dear Jared,_

_I hope you realized while reading this that I have left just enough information to leave you with enough questions to still be confused while also being honest._

Jared stared at the words written there. Of course. That was why the plan went off without a hitch. Angel had _wanted_ him to read the journal, which explained why her personal "diary" was intentionally cryptic or withholding information—leaving him both parts informed and even more confused.

He was about to throw the book away when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Someone was writing.

He looked back to the page and saw more words forming.

_You know me, Jared. I won't lie and say I'm not the reason you and the others are here, but I will honestly tell you I am no angel—quite the opposite actually. Still, I'm not the villain here unless I have to be. Safiya is fine, at peace._

_I'll write more soon,_

_Morrigan._

Immediately, he got out a pen and wrote back, hoping she would receive it.

_Dear Morrigan (Angel?)_

_What did you do to Safiya?! Why are we here? Why did you wipe my memory? Why am I different!_

_\- Jared_

He got a response moments later.

_Dear Jared,_

_Call me whichever. As to your questions, you'll know soon enough. But if everything goes according to plan, you won't have to. But I hid your memory to prevent you from moving on. The more confused you are, and the more you want to know what's going on, the less I have to worry about you. Safiya says hi, just so you know, I'm with her right now._

_\- Morrigan_

He blinked, rereading the message. Safiya was okay? He supposed Angel—Morrigan—could be lying, but for some reason he didn't think she was.

One thing was certain though: his memories held the key to solving this mystery.

If he had "helped" Safiya just by showing up, maybe that was why he was different. Or maybe it was that mind mage thing Cosmo was mentioning. Or both. But at least now he had a way to talking to Morrigan without the risk of getting stabbed again.

Friendly reminder it had only been two days. It felt like weeks with how much had happened. Maybe because everyone was dead so it didn't matter.

The door opened and Jared hid the pen, pretending he was reading. He didn't know if others knowing would somehow make Morrigan stop writing, which would deprive him of information. She must have some way of knowing if he told the Resistance what he knew. He was going to tell them, just without the book in the same room as him.

"Anything?" Ben asked. Jared nodded, then shook his head.

"Her name, she has some sort of plan for me that isn't given details for here, Obliteration isn't as bad as we think, and Safiya's fine." Ben gaped at him, trying to settle on which one to react to,

"I'll tell Liana!" he said after a moment, brightening, "For starters, what's the name? Nobody really got close enough to ask, so we have no idea." So she probably wouldn't mind him telling the others her name. He then wondered why he was thinking about what the bitch who stabbed him yesterday would think.

"Morrigan."

"Phantom Queen?" Ben frowned, "We were _way_ off about what she is. That explains a lot."

"What does this change?" Jared asked, "So she's basically the opposite, but she's still the same."

"Yeah, but now we have a better idea what we're up against. Did your talks with Safiya spark any memories?"

"Not really. What she was telling me just…felt right. I can't really describe it."

Ben nodded thoughtfully, "Okay. You're clearly quite smart, and your build implies you can fight. How about you spend the next few weeks with various members of the Resistance, to see if certain activities have that 'right' feeling to them. If your memories could help us, we obviously have to get them back."

"Right." Jared looked back to the book, "What would I even do?"

"We don't _just_ do missions." Ben replied with a laugh, "We do activities we enjoy or learn now skills, or just make friends. Besides, Christmas is in a couple months, and we all like to have fun with that—not including the religious parts."

"Christmas?" Ben's eyes widened, then he relaxed and rolled his eyes,

"Oh right. You're from Blight. They don't celebrate Christmas there. Mostly we just make cookies, sing songs horribly off-key, and it's the one day a year we have a truce with Ang—Morrigan. It's fun. Ashina is the really passionate one."

Jared thought about it, "I was starting to think all we did was fight 'Angel'."

"Where's the fun in that?" Ben grabbed his hand, suddenly grinning, and started running down the hall.

"Where are we going?"

"The garage." Was the answer, "With how you reverse-engineered that lock, you must have some experience." They arrived in a dusty room full of various tools, metals, and all sorts of other things. "The only people who come in here are Chiso and occasionally Amber, so you basically have it to yourself. Triggering anything? That feeling?" Jared ran his hand along the wall, looking around,

"Kind of, I guess. Not the same as before though." He picked up a piece of sheet metal, "So can I do anything I want in here?"

"Yeah. More rules you break, the better." Ben turned to leave before pausing, "Cosmo told me to give you this," he pulled out a black book similar to Morrigan's journal, "He wants you to write down your dreams. Something about the dreams either showing or giving us clues to your memories."

Jared examined the empty book, "Probably not going to do it. But okay."

OoOoO

"Do you think you could restore my memory?" Jared asked Cosmo. It had been about a month and a half, and enough was enough. He _had_ to know who he was. He kept getting those feelings, Morrigan wasn't being helpful, and he kept having dreams that made him wake up in a cold sweat, but only the image of a bleeding young girl with her eye cut out stuck with him.

Cosmo's room was much nicer than the other rooms. He owned the third floor, where the only other thing on that floor was Headquarters. So, while the third floor was smaller than the other two floors, his room was huge by comparison to the other rooms. The sloped ceiling ended on either side of a massive window. One looked out at the campus, and the other looked at the river and forest. There were scuffs on the faded oak floor and the furniture was scattered in a manner that suggested it was constantly moved for whatever reason.

Only his bed, a large, four-poster monstrosity canopied in gossamer seemed set in a permanent place against the wall. There was no kitchen, only a table next to the fireplace, which made the room warm but not overly so. The dusting of snow from the night before had vanished into dry late-autumn early-winter sun by midmorning, the temperature crisp but mild enough that the walk to find the staircase to access this place hadn't been unpleasant.

Cosmo looked up from the book he was reading. His face was paler than usual, lips wan.

"It's been a long while since I used magic like that. Before I got sent here. Before I was confined to this _prison_ of flesh and bone!" He gestured at his body, and then held up his left hand to reveal a mark on his hand and forearm. Black-blue ink in a swirling pattern, with a cat-like eye on his palm. He then glared, "Why is yours hidden?"

"Don't know." Jared said this, unsure about what Cosmo was even referring to, then placed the package he had been holding on the table, "Miles said this might assist in convincing you to help me." A few pints of hot blood, straight from the butcher. Jared was pretty sure he had just figured out what Cosmo ate, and tried to hold back the bile trying to rise up. He'd nearly run here to prevent it from getting cold, because who knew if temperature meant anything.

He unscrewed the lid on the first jar, the tang of blood filling his nostrils. Cosmo sniffed, then whipped his head to the glass pints, "You—oh, I _like_ you."

"It's lamb, if that makes a difference. Do you want me to heat it up?"

Cosmo rushed from the book, and Jared watched as the young man clutched the jar in both hands and gulped it down like water. He drank the entire thing in one go, good thing there were others. A trickle of blood ran down his chin, and he let it drop on his wrinkled gray shirt. Smacking his lips, he set the jar on the table with a great sigh, blood gleamed on his teeth, "Thank you."

"Do you have a favorite?"

Cosmo jerked his bloody chin, then wiped it with a napkin as he realized the mess he had made, "Lamb has always been my favorite. Horrible as it is."

"Not…human?"

He made a face, "Too watery, and often tastes like what they last ate. And since most humans have piss-poor palates, it's too much of a gamble. But I'll take goat too. The blood is purer. Richer. Reminds me of another time and place."

"Interesting." Jared said, and meant it. He wondered where and when exactly Cosmo meant.

Cosmo drained the rest of the blood, color already blooming on his face, and placed the jars in a small sink against the wall.

"What exactly are you?" The words came out before Jared could stop them, "How did you die?" Cosmo laughed as though Jared had just told a good joke,

"Not even Liana has been brave enough to ask me." He rolled his eyes, "I didn't die. But I was never quite alive either. I am half Demon, half Nephilim. Demon-Nephilim if you want to call it that. I was the reason Nephilims were forbidden, because I became powerful enough to scare the Council of Death—the old council, of ten-thousand years ago. They couldn't kill me, but they locked me in various rehabilitations. I don't know why. I hadn't done anything wrong other than exist and try to find my place, but I guess they wanted to keep it that way."

He flicked his wrist and the entire apartment cleaned itself, and furniture moved around, "I was able to be anything and everything. But when the council locked me up, they forced me into this human body." He gagged, looking at himself in disgust, "Ten millennia, and still I'm not used to it."

"So how the hell am I supposed to compare to you?"

"As I said before, you and I were both made into something we weren't born as. Only I got severely weakened while you got all sorts of new powers. Maybe your memory returning will remind you how to use them." He sat Jared down on the bed that dwarfed both of them, "This is _really_ going to hurt. I recommend laying down. You have to sleep for the spell to work properly anyways." Then he pulled out a thing of sandpaper and started rubbing it on Jared's right arm.

Jared yelped in response to the sudden and unexpected pain. Cosmo looked up,

"It will be easier with your mark revealed." He said calmly, "Try not to scream. It will be over in a moment." As promised, it was over in a moment. His arm was a bloody mess, but he wasn't worried since it would be healed within ten minutes. He laid down while Cosmo placed a hand on his forehead, which lulled him to sleep.

Then he saw his memories. Losing his parents, Totem Armor, Ladybug, up until he died in a motorcycle crash.

A motorcycle crash. _That_ was how he died.

He had expected that to be the end of it. And it was, kind of. Now the images he was seeing no longer acted as memories and rather just images he was living through. He saw that little girl many times. She was bleeding, or crying, and only one of the images had her smiling genuinely. There was nothing about him getting powers, but the final image showed him ripping the girl's eye out with a blade, and he saw her limp on the ground.

And then hands—there were hands on his shoulders, shaking him, squeezing him. He thrashed against them, screaming, screaming—

"JARED!"

The voice was at once the night and the dawn and the stars, and every inch of his body calmed at the dominance in it.

Cam—

"Open your eyes," the voice changed from a lovely woman to that of Cosmo. He had almost been able to picture her, when he was forced to open his eyes, leaving only a blurry silhouette that left him frustrated.

His throat was raw, mouth full of ash, his face soaked and sticky. Cosmo and Liana were hovering above him. For a moment, he wondered if the woman had been Liana, but no. Her voice and that of the woman were different, the latter had a pull to it that made him want to find her.

"Doesn't sound like it was the most wonderful life." Liana said quietly, concern still clearly present in her features.

The moonlight trickling in through the window illuminated the dark room. Wait…moon? It had been afternoon when he came up here. He supposed that didn't matter as he noticed the sheets and blankets were ripped. Shredded. But not with a knife. And that ashy, smoky taste coating his mouth…

Jared's hand was unnervingly steady as he lifted it to find his fingers ending in citrine embers. Living claws of psychic power taking the form of fire, that was what tore through the sheets like they were nothing at all.

He fell out of bed, slamming into a small chest before darting towards the bathroom, where he fell to his knees before the toilet, and was sick to his stomach. Again. _Again_. His fingertips hissed against the cool porcelain.

Soft hands pulled his hair back a moment later.

"Breathe," it was that voice again! "Deep breath in, then out."

Jared heaved into the toilet again, taking deep breaths and shuddering as light and heat crested and rushed out of him and savored the empty, cold dark that pooled in their wake.

"Well that's one way to do it." He finally managed to look and saw the woman, and he immediately recognized her as a figure from many of his dreams. She hadn't appeared in those images he just saw, but he wished she had. He didn't know her name, but it was obviously important. There had to be more of his memory that was lost. How did he survive the motorcycle crash? No idea. But he must have. He had no memory of the little girl either, only those moments he had seen with no context.

"Find your mate." Safiya had said. Mate. _Mate_. He took a moment to associate the word with the woman in front of him and was shocked to have that "right" feeling.

He was so transfixed with her, like she was the last good thing in the world, before watching her slowly fade from existence. She kissed his forehead, "Hang on, love. Everything will be okay soon," then she was gone.

"Wait! Who are you?!" He cried out, tearing at his hair.

When he dared look at his hands, the embers had been extinguished. Even that power in his veins, along his bones, slumbered once more.

He then noticed the mark on his right hand and forearm, identical to Cosmo's except on the opposite hand. The cat-like eye on his palm seemed as though it was watching him.

Jared then managed to get up and flush the toilet in an attempt to hide from Liana and Cosmo that he had just vomited. He still had a bad taste in his mouth. He watched the water swirl away entirely before turning and seeing Cosmo and Liana both looking worried.

"You never failed them," Jared gasped out, suddenly being able to hear Liana's thoughts, her self-hatred for supposedly failing her siblings and Safiya. He started shaking, his sweat clinging to him like blood, just like the blood on that little girl where he had struck her.

He pivoted, barely turning in time as he thought about that innocent child caught in the crossfire of whatever that had been. She, like the woman, seemed very important. She had to be, if her being injured by his hand caused such a reaction. Once again, he yielded whatever was left in his stomach—mostly stomach acid at this point. When the latest wave had ebbed, he leaned against the coldness of the nearby bathtub and closed his eyes.

When he awoke, sun streamed through the windows, and he was in his own bed—tucked in tightly to the fresh, clean sheets.

He managed to get up shakily, opening the window and seeing frost coating the grass below. The temperature wasn't pleasant, but not unbearable. He slipped on a sweater and jeans, then sat back on the bed thinking.

He remembered meeting Safiya. It had been maybe six months before he died. But she had been here for years, and he had been here for not even two months. It didn't add up. He obviously had more memories.

Pulling out the journal, he wrote down a message.

_Morrigan,_

_I got my memory back up to a motorcycle crash at fifteen, but I know there is more. I keep having dreams about a woman, my mate, and then a little girl. Who is the child? My daughter? What is my mate's name? It's been bothering me, like it's just on the tip of my tongue._

_\- Jared_

He didn't really expect a response, so he went to close the window, and found a note from Ben saying that if he needed time to cope with his new memories, nobody would disturb him until that night, where he was invited for dinner, but didn't have to go.

He decided he would go. Maybe take an hour or so to himself while communicating with Morrigan, but he did see these people as friends. Liana was a fun leader, and while she was a bit hotheaded and would hit when pissed, she had earned the loyalty of the Resistance. Ben was a good second, and had done a good job making Jared feel welcome.

Out of curiosity, he tried activating Totem Armor, only to find nothing. No response at all other than the psychic power making a frying pan fly out the window.

He looked back to the book and saw a response.

_Jared,_

_Cosmo the reason you have your memory back? Well yes, you lived for five more years after the motorcycle crash. The girl's name is Joselyn, and she is your daughter—not biologically, unless I am really missing something, you have no biological children. She's actually your mate's brother's wife's kid sister, but she is more your kid than anything._

_Your mate's name is Camille._

_\- Mor_

Camille. Joselyn. His family.

_Are they alright!?_

_\- Jared_

He was actually pacing while he waited for an answer. "Please please please," he begged to whatever would listen, "let them be okay."

_Jared…_

_I can't say about Joselyn, namely because she's been missing ever since you died, though I can tell you that she isn't in the system, so she is probably alive. Camille, while taking your death really hard, could definitely be worse. She hasn't taken up anything self-destructive like most do when they lose their mate, but she has developed insomnia and a tendency to talk to herself._

_This system is for children with regrets and/or terrible lives that could make them lash out at others and disturb the peace, and once they achieve what they wanted to in life, or make peace with their death, they move onto the true afterlife. Safiya wanted to thank you for giving her that second chance where she discovered her love of music, and so she found peace. I have no power over who vanishes or not._

_The reason why your friends are fighting is because of their unfair/failure lives._

_You also have to realize once they joined the Resistance, all of them made lots of bonds and became good friends. The Resistance thinks "why should I pass on and live another unfair life and leave all the friends I've made." They don't know what happens, and fear reincarnation or an equally unfair afterlife._

_No matter what, do not find peace from this. I will have to be the bad guy. Let's just say that you really need to stay here._

_\- Mor_

That was the most information he had ever gotten from her. But if Joselyn and Camille were either alive or okay for the most part, he didn't see a reason for him staying here. He didn't mind his death at all, it happens.

In that moment, he felt a pounding in his head and Morrigan was next to him.

"Gah! What the hell?!"

"No. I will have none of that!" She snapped, turning her hand into a sword, "If I tell you the plan, you won't go for it. But you are a key factor and I will stab you every single day of your existence if you don't keep yourself non-peaceful enough to stay here." He got up,

"Fine. I just don't see the need for secrecy! If I want to move on, then I will, unless you give me a damn good reason not to. Hell, if this is such a good thing, the others should move on as well!"

"Then help them with that." Morrigan replied, "But you seriously want me to be the bad guy?" She glared, walking to the door, "Fine. Now I'm _really_ the bad guy." She left, leaving Jared feeling very uncomfortable, hoping he hadn't just made a mistake his friends or living family would pay the price for.

He slipped on a jacket and decided to take a walk to clear his head, thinking about his existence here. Admittedly, he had been having fun here, building cars and such in the garage, or maybe a sword like the big one he saw himself wielding in his dreams. Chiso was really kind if you got him to talk for longer than three seconds—still hadn't managed long enough to know about his backstory.

As he walked, he saw the people he had grown to see as friends. He saw Adam and Miles practicing baseball. Liana and Cosmo were ice dancing on the frozen lake. Ashina was making wreaths for Christmas. Evan was cooking what was likely a nice dinner. Amber was training Ben on his hand-to-hand combat.

K was the one who approached him, looking shockingly lucid.

"You must escape." He said, "Danger!" Now, Jared genuinely wondered if this was a stoned man's ramblings or he actually knew something.

"What do you mean?"

"You crossed the Phantom Queen! She will make you pay!" Then he fell over. Jared stared, realizing his mind powers had done something.

"K?" He bent down, and then he noticed the bandana had fallen off from where it normally concealed K's eyes, only to see it was because of ice crystals surrounding his eyes in a mask-like fashion.

When K sat up, his eyes were clear, not hazed or under any influence.

"Jared." He looked at his hands, and to his white hair, "You have to get out of here!" He stood up, and then removed some gloves, revealing he had the same mark Jared had. Mark of the Made. "I'm like you! I've been trying to tell you, but with that spell on my mind—"

"Woah woah woah, calm down." Jared grabbed K's shoulders, "What is your name? What are you talking about?"

"My name is Kiyo." he said, "You're like me, working for the council to take out Kahu, which then resorting in them auto-killing you and leaving you to have your mind destroyed?"

"The council?"

"The council of death." Kiyo explained as he dragged Jared into the garage, "Seven beings with power over the seven sections of the afterlife. Through my hazes of thought, I know the Phantom Queen took over about forty years ago for one of the sections. I am from the year 1730, but my story is that I've been here about thirty-nine years from the mid-to-late nineties." He grabbed Jared's shoulders, "If the Queen wants you here, you have to stay. I don't have time now that my mind has been restored, but Jared, I just woke up the rest of your—" Then he vanished, blinking out of existence just like Safiya.

But it wasn't like Kiyo gave him confusing. He had somehow awoken the remainder of his memories. He knew exactly who Morrigan was, the council, how he got dragged into this mess—which was another "Blame Kelly" moment—Zoe, Eli, Kahu, Cam, Joselyn, _everything_.

But why did Morrigan want him to stay here? That part was still unclear. Was there something going on in the living world that he didn't know about? Because now that he remembered, the only thing keeping him here was wanting the others to understand.

He then noticed the sun was going down and went to the warehouse where everyone was getting ready for dinner. Liana sent a smile his way,

"Glad you joined us. What have you been doing today?"

"Pissing off Morrigan, going on a walk, and watched K—who's real name is Kiyo—get obliterated."

"WHAT?!" Everyone looked panicked, but Cosmo remained calm.

"You restored his mind?"

"Yes, and he gave me what was left of my memory in turn. Turns out Morrigan is keeping me here for some reason that probably has something to do with my mate being her niece. And I am actually twenty, and have a daughter."

"Wow." Ben said, and then Jared realized how his memories could help Ben: his daughter was Ben's stepsister.

Jared nodded to himself, wincing when he again felt the pounding in his head.

Evan brought out leftover turkey and other various things from Thanksgiving about a week prior.

The pounding in his head increased, and Jared went to take a drink of water.

Reaching for his glass, however, sent spikes of red-hot pain through his head, and he let out a quiet gasp.

"Jared?" Liana asked, always the first to notice these things.

Jared blinked, black spots forming. But the pain stopped.

No, not a stop, but a pause. A pause, then—

Right between his eyes, it ached and pressed at his head, trying to get in. He rubbed his brows. His throat closed up, and he reached for the water again, thinking of coolness, of calm and cold. But magic was churning in his gut—burning up. Each pulse of pain in his head made it worse.

"Jared," Liana said again, this time getting the attention of the entire Resistance. Jared ignored them, getting to his feet, legs wobbling. The blackness in his vision grew with each blow from the pain, and he swayed. Distantly, as if he were underwater, he heard Ben call his name…or maybe it was Cosmo…it was hard to tell who was talking, other than being male.

Ben got up, supporting his friend, "You okay? What is it?" None of them had seen this before. As Morrigan had said, there were no hospitals other than the infirmary for NPCs, because nobody got sick. So naturally, they were all more than a little scared, hoping Jared would simply be tired. Maybe a side effect from getting his memory back? But Jared knew this was Morrigan forcing him to stay, and she was no longer taking a gentle approach.

"I don't feel right," He managed, barely able to get the words out. He gripped Ben's arm, for comfort and to keep his buckling knees from giving out.

"What's wrong?" Cosmo asked, walking over and placing a hand on Jared's forehead. A flicker of worry, before glancing back at Liana. "He's burning up," he said softly, which made the entire Resistance get up and helping support Jared as his knees gave out and he fell to the ground.

He didn't need all the help, and he gripped Ben's arm to tell him as much. Yet no words came out as magic surged and burned. Ben hissed and jerked back—smoke was now rising from Ben's shirt where Jared had touched him. "Jared."

His head gave a throb—a blast of pain, and then…

A wriggling, squirming inside his head.

A worm of darkness, pushing its way in. His magic roiled, thrashing, trying to get it out, to save both of them, but—_"Jared!"_

"Get it out," he rasped, pushing at his temples as he backed away from everyone. His magic bucked like a stallion as the worm only he could see wriggled farther in, _"Get it out!"_

"Jared!" Cosmo and Liana, no longer letting the others handle this, ran over to him, but Jared flung out a hand—to keep them away, to warn them.

Citrine light shot out of his hand, which made everyone fly back. The entire warehouse exploded as well. Then the citrine light became blue fire.

The worm would latch onto his mind and never let go. He hadn't thought Camille's aunt was capable of this, either emotionally or with her magic, but apparently she could. Was she mad that he was willing to give up a life with the woman he had been ready to marry, all to get rid of Kahu. Why was she keeping him here like this?!

Jared grabbed at his head, his magic screaming, so loud it could shatter the world. And then he was burning, a living column of turquoise and citrine flame, sobbing as the dark worm continued its work and the walls of his mind began to give.

Above his own screaming, above the panicked shouting of the others, he heard Cosmo bellow a command to Liana, "Do it, Liana!"

The pillar of flame wasn't actual flame, it was his mind magic with a close to physical form. Anyone who touched it would have their mind completely wiped clean, and that was if they didn't get launched away by the blasts or telekinesis.

Jared's eyes, full of pleading and pain, met Liana's emerald ones.

Then water—a wall of water crashing down on him, slamming him to the ground, flowing down his throat, into his eyes, choking him, drowning him, until there was no more room for the flame. Only water and its freezing embrace.

Liana ran over to where he was shaking on the ground. The worm hadn't died, it was still there, and now there was no defense for him to use to keep it out.

"Get it out! Get it out! Get it out!" He repeated this in a chant, his eyes unseeing at this point, focusing on the intruder working its way in.

"What's going on?!" Miles asked, "Get what out?"

"W-Worm…!" Then he lost consciousness, leaving the Resistance alarmed and unsure of what to do.

Cosmo was not so stunned, "We need to get him back to HQ so I can look him over better."

"Will he be okay?" Chiso asked, "We've lost enough!" Cosmo hesitated,

"I…don't know."

…

Morrigan watched what was going on from above, no longer wearing her student council president uniform and instead a long flowing black dress.

Freya appeared next to her, "When I said to keep Jared here, I did not mean like this. Camille is going to kill you, you know that right?"

"I know." Morrigan replied, "And the worm won't hurt him too much, just keep him enough agony that he won't be able to wake up until I release the worm, which will leave him unable to move on. Hopefully I won't have to keep it in him for long, but know I will have to if Cosmo figures out what it is." She turned, "What of Kiyo? I take it he isn't too thrilled about having lost his mind for centuries."

"Oh god no." Freya replied, "Empty had to literally use sleep powers to calm him down. Once we explained that it was an accident and showed it had also happened to Jared, he calmed enough that we were able to place him in your domain. Safiya is happy with Grim Reaper. And Ben will move on as soon as Jared tells him of Joselyn's fate—hopefully he will find peace before the bad things come up."

"Agreed." The two council members looked to each other, and Morrigan sighed, "Is it a coincidence that Jared ended up in the same rehabilitation as a former stone wielder and someone who knew him in life?"

"No. I placed him here because of that. Book of Prophecies had it written that was what was to occur. Cosmo was the only oversight. He's too self-aware."

"I can't be the bad guy anymore." Morrigan replied, "If we need to dispose of him, I'm not doing it."

"I never said that!" Freya looked horrified at such a thought, "I was just saying that he might make things more difficult. Most of these kids' goals are pretty simple, but they never bothered. If Jared dedicated a week or so to each, he could get all of them out of here by the time Camille is done with Otar."

"Good. Well, keep an eye out for Joselyn."

"Can do." And then the Lady of the Lake vanished, leaving Morrigan to watch the Resistance worry for their friend.

**A/N: Chapters involving Jared in the afterlife are going to be long. Did not expect it to be this long, but oh well. Next chapter is either Joselyn on Ravnica, Jared in the afterlife, or the rest of the family, vote for which one you want—Joselyn's won't be for a while since Driver3196 is busy.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 33: Start of recovery**

Camille had been catatonic for three days after Jared's death before finally mustering up the will to attempt getting on with her life. It was hard to do, but she knew he wouldn't want her to mope forever. He would want her to at least try moving on.

Besides, she was determined to get him back. Freya had explained what she had to do, and so she was going to do it.

Her family, however, was not so eager. They did not mourn Jared at all. At least she knew they weren't the type to get angry and refuse to listen to anyone—like someone she knew—so if Jared could just explain his perspective, they would be less mad. She could see how things looked on their end and it didn't look good, she would admit that. Through the bond, she had heard his thoughts and knew he had genuinely thought there was no other way. She wasn't mad at him in the slightest—just wished he would listen from time to time.

The main issue other than that were the missing stone wielders, and Joselyn.

Well, Joselyn was a planeswalker, and could be basically anywhere. Sam and Mara had not been a part of the fight, and instead were on Innistrad trying to find a way to help the survivors of The Tragedy—the actual title the masses used was "The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in History"—and now they were looking around for any sign of Joselyn. Apparently something had happened on Ravnica, and they were praying she wasn't there. Camille didn't know the details, but there was something about a dragon and

The stone wielders were a different story. At Plagg's suggestion, the moment Jared died from Totem Armor and Kahu was dead, they all booked it, launching themselves into the Lanes Between. Because the team hadn't found the three for days—two hours unprotected wasn't healthy—while suffering from a burnout and floating around for days was not good.

It took three days to find Quantic Jared, four to find Kagami, and six to find Hana. All three were in terrible shape, and were so deeply unconscious they were practically comatose.

In that time, they had found Quantic Jared's sister, Kaylee. She was obviously worried about her brother, but apparently this wasn't the first time he had been burned up and unconscious, as some experiments had literally blown up in his face.

Eden had to keep herself neutral and not pick favorites, but she did tend to Hana above the others—though Hana was in worse condition, so that was reasonable.

Gizmo had not stopped looking for Joselyn, traveling the Multiverse in search of her friend.

As of now, they were all on Innistrad until they could find a new place to live—which hadn't gone much of anywhere in the last two months. Zoe and Eden were working on how to use their Worldbender powers to create their own world.

Camille walked into the infirmary. It was midnight, Otar was off walking around the city—and there was no stopping him, as she had learned during these two months—so she had nothing better to do than check on Eden, who was slowly washing Hana in ice water.

"How is she?" Eden turned,

"Not great. If anything, she's getting worse." She picked Hana up and placed her on the patient bed, "Can you help me dress her?" Camille nodded and helped Eden out. Hana opened her eyes a little, but they were the weird swirling thing, not the dark brown they were supposed to be.

Eden sighed, looking to Cam as she slipped a nightgown onto Hana, "What do you need?"

"A distraction." She replied, placing a hand on her chest, "It's painful, without him. Having to look at Otar all the time as a constant reminder I failed to get there in time." Eden bit her lip, deep in thought.

"You can help me. Kaylee is sleeping, so try to be quiet. But check on Kagami and Qua—actually, I'll handle him."

"It's fine." Camille assured, "Those two are way too different for me to see _him_. Even if they are technically the same person." She walked over to Quantic Jared, who was gasping quietly, kicking at the blankets covering him. The two Jareds only looked the same in the way two brothers would, not like they were the same person.

It didn't take long to cool him off and apply some salve on the burns. When he was awake, he would speak utter nonsense, and occasionally whimper in pain. Kagami mostly just slept, and Hana would activate her Shadow Charmer powers or struggle breathing. Ramsey was at her master's side every moment of every day.

Eli came in, hesitating a little, before deciding he would go for it.

"Hey Cam…"

"Go away." Camille snapped, "I don't want to hear it."

"I-I wasn't going to say anything," he said, more than a little hurt, "I was just wondering if you wanted to join the family for a movie." Then he turned to leave, "I _really_ want to be here for you Cam, please talk to me."

"Why should I talk to you if I know you hate him?" She said, "It was a mistake, and you and our parents hate him for it. You don't even want me to try bringing him back!"

"I don't care about that!" Eli snapped back, "You are my sister! There is such a thing as loving you and not wanting to question your love life! Jared was a really good friend, and I will put up with my rage at him…if it means making you happy." He huffed, turning away, "You know what, forget I even said anything." He left, and Camille felt a little bad when she heard him stifle a sob.

Eden looked to her, "They really do care about you. When Zoe lost Eli, she needed all the support she could get."

"Yeah, well I know they hate Jared, and I'm not the type to keep people from their opinions. I just don't want to hear it." Changing the subject, she looked back to the sick people, "Shouldn't they have recovered by now?"

"No. They were in the Lanes Between for days, and the drain from…Otar coming into existence, ended up draining life force instead of their magic." Eden looked down at her girlfriend, "I'm doing everything I can." Amhar came in with some washcloths and a bucket of water. He held them out to his mother—not that he knew she was his mother, and while they had told him that Jared wasn't actually his father, they weren't sure if he had any idea who his parents were.

Eden looked down at her son, clearly uncomfortable, before taking the bucket and washcloths, "Thank you, Amhar." He grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Camille looked to him curiously. He had jumped in age to that of a five year old, so why…

"Amhar? Have you learned to speak yet?" Amhar just blinked at her. Eden nodded,

"He has said 'family' but that's it. I think he's mute." She looked down at the child, "Go see Zoe. Thank you for the stuff." Satisfied, Amhar ran off. Camille frowned,

"You seriously haven't told him what you are to him?"

"No. And I never will." Eden replied, watching him run off, "I used to want kids, but the way it happened…what it did to my family…Amhar is going to be dangerous. The son of a god and a Worldbender. He was able to survive Felix's power, something the others couldn't possibly…" she clenched her fist, "He must never know the truth about what he is, or how he came to be."

"And when the day comes that he learns you turned your back on him because of the circumstances of his birth that he had no control over?"

"That day won't come." Eden replied, "The day will come, however, that your family stops trying to talk to you and you wind up all alone. What if Otar doesn't relent? Jared won't come back, which will leave you with _nothing_. So talk to them. It's not like they go around expressing their hatred. Hell, nobody even brings it up! We don't really talk about the fallen, just grieve quietly. Hell, Dad is the only one who is mentioned, since he was a really good friend to everyone—especially your parents, who are heartbroken to have lost their best friend."

"I know." Camille huffed, "Maybe I'm just stubborn."

"You and your mate both." Eden muttered, "But if you're gonna brood, do it somewhere else. It's not good for the patients. But seriously, talk to your family, it's not good for you to go through this alone."

And so, Camille left, bumping into Felix,

"Oh. Sorry Aunt Camille." Felix muttered, "I was just going to check on Kaylee." She shrugged,

"Kaylee's sleeping. I was just heading off to bed."

"I thought Dad came to talk to you."

"He did. But I'm just not ready yet."

"How would Jared feel if he knew he was the reason you abandoned your family?"

That question made Camille freeze. She looked back at her nephew, at the tattered wings that dragged along the floor. Felix's blue-violet eyes stared into her soul,

The question hung between them. No. Obviously Jared wouldn't want that. Hell, he would likely be extremely upset at the hatred, since the years had had him seeing the Sommers family like his own family. So he would come back and find his family had turned their backs on him. How would he feel about losing another family? Upset, obviously, try to make things right. But the problem was that Camille hadn't been raised around her parents the way Eli had, and she had never seen them mad before. Were they aggressive? Would they listen? She didn't know and it scared her.

Of course, she had to take into account that Eli knew what the mating bond was like, and would most likely believe her when she spoke from Jared's perspective.

"Is Catra with Otar?" She decided not to answer Felix's question, changing the subject.

"Most likely." Felix replied, "She's always watching him. To be fair, he's the closest thing we know of to what she is."

"Adrien and Marinette can't be okay with that."

"Marinette still has amnesia and doesn't care. Adrien is struggling with the death of his mother, one of his daughters, close friends, managing his adopted brother and half-sister, and two Fae twins, _and_ trying to win back his mate. If he knew, he would be horrified, but he doesn't exactly have time. Since all the Agreste funds went to him since Gabriel's will was in Galowen, he's trying to figure out what to do."

"Alright." She nodded, "I'll go check on Catra. Unlike most of you, I'm not afraid of Otar."

"Best of luck." Felix plastered on a smile Camille knew full well was fake, "Good night, Aunt Camille." She smiled,

"Thanks, Felix."

OoOoO

Viirus was laying in bed, looking at the ceiling once again. Two months. He had been bedridden for two months.

The Faebane-induced fever came fast, robbing him of his strength. From a warrior to a curled up child, shaking and pale, the transformation couldn't have been any more cruel. For weeks, sickness showed no sign of lifting to a milder form—if anything the chills had been intensifying. Finally, Adrien remembered a young healer in Galowen who had helped him when he was stabbed with Ashwood. Cherokee had been summoned, and she managed to get the fever under control by the end of the hour. Eden was now an apprentice to the Fae healer.

That had been the first time Viirus had been able to think straight. The first time he learned about who had been lost. While he was upset about having lost so many of his siblings, it was Jared's death that hung over him. His best friend was gone.

What was worse, he was still too weak to get out of bed for longer than a few steps. Even Cherokee's healing left the wound on his back and stomach very sensitive. The stitches had reopened multiple times, and he could barely move.

His hands were frail and shaking gently as he reached for the hot tea that had been left on his nightstand. This was not the first time he realized how vulnerable he was and how much of a toll the sickness had taken, but it hurt just as badly as that first time.

And there was one final thing.

_"The poison ate away at your magic." _Cherokee had said, _"I don't know when or if your powers will return. You and I can work together in Carthis when you are well enough, but there are no guarantees."_

No magic. He'd always had his magic, and being without it left him feeling even weaker, lost, scared.

For months now, he had been sitting on the brink of something he couldn't describe. The weight of everything seemed to press down on his shoulders as he struggled to take even a single step forward. It was too much. All of it. Every step cost him. The darkness grew darker; the pain grew sharper; all of it seemed to only grow in strength and he wondered if things could ever get better.

It had been awhile since he'd last cried. He honestly don't think he was capable of it anymore. It wasn't like he didn't want to, on the bad days he wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and have the tears wash away the heaviness in his chest. He just couldn't.

Blazze came in, and he found himself genuinely smiling at the sight of his sister.

"Hey." He managed to get himself into a sitting position and looked in her direction, "Did you talk to Zoe?" All the kwamis remembered what they had done under Kahu's control, and Viirus wasn't the only one to feel extremely guilty about this. Sure, it wasn't their faults they were being controlled, but they all wished they had been able to fight it off. Viirus, having had his memory locked away and reduced to a puppet, was the only one with an excuse and he was the one to have broken free. Blazze had known Zoe just as long as Viirus had known Jared, if not longer, and then those memories came back.

Blazze shook her head, "Every time I look at her, with that cane, I see where I had thrown burning knives and beaten her within an inch of her life. Sure, we may not have been as close as you and Jared, but I still care about her deeply. You at least had absolutely no control over your actions and never directly harmed Jared. But I hurt Zoe, and _loved_ it. And I know Zoe grew to accept I was a villain, so I don't even know she would forgive me."

"Never thought you'd be afraid of someone."

"Oh I'm not _afraid_ of _her_. I'm nervous to talk to her, and terrified of her mate. Eli is easily one of the nicest people alive…unless you hurt his family, then he will go full villain on you. He's definitely grown out of being skittish in the face of family in danger." Blazze looked out the window at the city outside, "Cherokee said that if you were in a wheelchair, I could take you outside."

Viirus hesitated. The idea of being confined to a wheelchair hurt what was left of his self-esteem, but he had to get out of this room. After a moment, he decided to bite that bullet, and let Blazze help him into the wheelchair.

It was about five minutes before he grew uncomfortable and wanted out of the chair, but they were already in a quieter part of the city.

Whether it was coincidence or sheer plot-driving power, they ended up spotting the Sommers Family—Eli, Zoe and kids—in the bakery. Danielle was the one to notice and point them out.

Eli came out to them, "Hey guys! Didn't expect to see you out."

"That's because I just got the okay from Cherokee." Blazze replied, "But we'll be going." Eli shrugged,

"Nonsense. Zoe misses you. Hell, you've known her longer than I have. We were discussing family business, but it never hurts to have friends around."

"Y-You're not mad?" Blazze asked, "About…"

"Nah. I just wish I had gotten a couple blows at Kahu. Jaay wasn't acting at all like himself, why would you have been? And please note Zoe brushes off the things concerning her safety that I get mad about, and I'm not angry. Do you really think she will be?" Viirus shrugged,

"Okay, fine. We'll join you." They went into the bakery and saw Aelin frowning at her mother,

"So you're gonna be different?" Zoe nodded,

"Yes, but in a good way. I'll still be your fun Mom." She looked up at Blazze, smiling, "Long time, no see. We're just talking about that we learned from some neuroscan. Apparently parts of my brain that process emotion and my moral compass are quite underdeveloped since I was born at twenty weeks—way premature—and my magic is the only thing that kept me alive, which assists in psychotic behavior. We learned that Felix and Eden together could fix my brain, but it could lead to behavior changes, so we're talking about it with the kids first."

Roxas was crying, "I don't want you to be different, Mama."

"It won't be that drastic," she assured her son, bouncing him on her good leg, "It will just help me out a lot with my mind. I've done very bad things, kids. And it will be better if I do this. But I can have Eli reverse it if things are bad. Okay?" The kids looked to each other, and nodded.

Danielle raised a hand, "I thought this was going to be about another baby." Zoe and Eli both flushed. Eli was shaking his head, and Zoe shrugged,

"We'll see how things go. OH!" She looked to Viirus, "We discovered that the mermaid kingdom survived the Tragedy, and there is a special flower at the bottom of a deadly ditch, and it can heal anything if ingested. Well, anything within reason, I tried one and it didn't help my leg." Still, stab wound vs. Spears of Gungnir, Viirus liked his chances. Still, this was Zoe.

"What are the chances of this flower fucking me up? Is this your way of poisoning me?"

"Nah." Zoe shrugged, "If I were going to kill you, I would have captured a Wendigo and forced it to make me a Pet Semetery."

"Cemetery." Aelin corrected, only to have a book tossed at her,

"Semetery."

Eli stared between his wife and Viirus's beyond disturbed expression, "You really want to have a bunch of murderous zombies around? An undead toddler and an undead eight year old led to disaster. Undead warrior sounds like a _terrible_ idea, especially if he would be bitter with you."

"Yeah. Where was I even going with this?" Zoe then remembered what had led to Viirus once again cursing having to be in a wheelchair which left him unable to leave or fight back against possibly being murdered by this crazy woman, "Oh right. The point is I'm not going to kill you, you would have enough time to get away. The flower is perfectly safe."

"….Okay then?" Roxas pursed his lips,

"I'm starting to see why letting Mama get her brained fixed is a good thing."

"Definitely." Viirus agreed. Blazze rolled her eyes, finally relaxing,

"I should have seen the signs that you were nuts back with Style Queen. Crying about Adrien, but didn't even bring up the murder." She then laughed, "Viirus, funny story: once upon a time we thought that one murder was Brief Psychotic Disorder."

"Brief?" He slowly blinked, trying to process that, "Brief?! I think the brief is when she _isn't_ psychotic!"

"Yeah, well that was back when I was in denial with how completely nuts I am. It helped to have someone who loved all of me." She smiled at Eli, and Felix rolled his eyes,

"Great. So we have Dad to thank for you bring extra insane." Eli playfully glared,

"Hey! You will respect my authoritah!"

"We try Daddy." Danielle said, "But then I remember you were two Disney Princesses at the same time, that that respect shrivels and dies."

"Uncle Adrien was Sleeping Beauty." Eli pouted. Then they realized Viirus hadn't been there for these stories. Zoe slowly grinned evilly, and her husband shook his head frantically. They had a silent argument for a few moments before Viirus threw his hands up,

"I don't even want to know." Aelin brightened,

"Dad, maybe if you and Mama have another baby, there will finally be someone who respects you!"

"Why the hell do y'all want another little sibling?" Blazze asked, "There are hundreds of children in this family already."

"Well yeah, but we need to form our band of close ultra-powerful family so we can survive the next apocalypse." Danielle looked down at herself, "And I'm tired of being the shortest around here." Zoe laughed, taking a long sip of coffee,

"Oh sweetie. I haven't grown since I was fourteen. I am 5'1. You don't know short until you know you are done growing and stand next to one of the Jareds." She mumbled, "That man is almost two feet taller than me and might still be growing once we pull him out of the afterlife."

"So…" Felix frowned, "I'll fix Mom's brain later, and we will see how things go at dinner?"

"Yeah!" Viirus and Blazze looked to each other,

"Should we head back?" Viirus nodded, looking back to Zoe,

"Who is getting those flowers?" Zoe pulled out her phone,

"Looking…okay…Dausi is going with Chloe and Marinette. They should be back by dinner, but if they aren't, they are stuck in death vines and have to be rescued."

"How would we rescue them?" Aelin asked.

"Fire plus plants equals no more plants."

"Oh."

OoOoO

Dinner came, and the flower-gathering trio came with bags and bags on those flowers. Sam looked to them,

"Those are aquatic plants, where will you keep them?" Chloe looked at them,

"Don't know. But Zoe is a Worldbender, so she'll find somewhere." Eden came running in and grabbed three of the five massive bags,

"Put the seeds in a bathtub of cold water, that's what they need. As for the rest of these, they won't go bad, but we should use them. Someone start up a soup, because Felix needs it, and Viirus, and _especially_ the stone wielders. Anyone else injured, take some."

So Marinette started putting flowers into the soup when Adrien came in,

"Hi Marinette," she turned with the same bright smile that had made his heart skip a beat as a teenager, but now as a father, having lost a child, and trying to win back his amnesiac wife, it just made him sad and longed for different times. They had won, but at a steep cost.

"Oh hey Adrien." Not Chaton, not kitty, nothing. And since Plagg was dead _again_ there was no reason to. He tried to ignore that hole that was tearing at him, losing Plagg again, but he had responsibilities now. In the span of a week, he had lost everything except two of his children, his adopted brother he didn't know very well, and the half-sister who he just didn't understand. He and Elaine were like the sun and moon. The only thing they had in common were that they were both orphans, and had the same father that they couldn't remember—he did know about Hawk Moth still, since there was memory of existence but nothing personal until much later, and that was gone.

"So…" he wasn't sure what to do. She didn't have that crush anymore, and it wasn't like he could just give her another umbrella. Sure, Christmas was coming up in a few weeks, but that meant snow and not rain, "Any memories?"

"Nope."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing."

Adrien sighed. Everyone had mutually agreed to not tell Marinette much about her past, except that she lived with them. This was so she didn't feel forced into a situation she wasn't comfortable with. She didn't know she was married, she didn't know her best friends—Tikki and Alya—were dead, didn't know her parents were 99% guaranteed to be dead, not that she had lost a child but still had two more… It hurt him, Catra and Hugo, but they would push through it for her sake.

He watched her. She had grown quite a bit from the thirteen year old he had met all those years ago. He wondered if he would have ever had a chance with her if Zoe hadn't come into his life. Marinette's blue hair was no longer in pigtails, instead in a short braided ponytail down her back. Her figure had matured as well, into that of a young woman. Her color palate had dulled as well, still pink, but less vibrant.

He had imagined a world with having his Ladybug by his side forever. But now both of their kwamis were dead, she had amnesia, and he was left alone without anyone but Zoe for comfort. And while he still loved his stepsister, he didn't want to bother her, especially since she was coping with the loss of her own parent, and had double the number of kids to manage.

So yes, he was depressed. It had never gone away after his mother vanished the first time. So for over ten years he had been battling his own inner demons. It would be locked away for a time, but other times come exploding out. But he couldn't afford to let himself give in. He had promised his two perfect children that everything would be okay. He had failed so many, but he would not fail them.

"Need help with that?" He asked, and Marinette grinned,

"Actually yes. Thank you." He came over and helped her remove the petals from the flowers and place them in the water. Marinette then pulled up her sleeve, revealing a tattoo of a ladybug with a green paw print on it. Adrien had the same mark on his own wrist. They had gotten it right before getting married. She examined it now, and Adrien tried to hide the tear that slipped down his cheek.

"What is this mark?" She asked. He choked on some tears, but managed to keep his calm,

"You and I were very close friends. So we got that tattoo. You're the lucky ladybug, and I'm the unlucky black cat." He showed his own mark and she looked at it with a smile.

"So that's why you're so nice to me. We were friends."

"Yeah. And I hope we still are." She giggled,

"Of course we are, kitty." He could have sworn his heart stopped. Maybe he could take a risk.

"D-Do you wanna go for coffee tomorrow morning, bugaboo?" he wasn't sure if she knew he was asking her out, but her wink made him relax,

"You might have to wake me up, but that sounds great." She looked to the finished soup—thank you Fae magic making things faster—and put it in a couple bowls, "We should give this to the others."

"Need help?" They saw Zoe come in, struggling a little with her cane, but there was something…different…about her.

"Zo? You okay?" She nodded,

"Yeah. I got my brain fixed, and I didn't realize how miserable I was before. Like a huge weight is off my shoulders. Don't worry, I'm still a stubborn bitch, but just not as murderous and more emotionally stable." She grabbed one of the bowls, "And that's good, since I was formerly on the brink of crying at all times with my cane. It still sucks, just not 'my life is over' kind of sucks. Now if you excuse me, I gotta go give this to Hana so my sister can get properly laid." Adrien ruffled her hair, noticing it was once again shorter—now once again at her shoulders in a short braid.

"Good to know you haven't changed too much. Are you gonna try getting a job again?"

"Nah. I've got divine ultra-demon powers and a family who needs me. I don't want to stay away from my family for long periods of time like Dad did. Unlike him, I know where I belong, I don't feel like an outcast. He would want me to learn from his mistakes. Maybe I'll take up a job in a few years, but for now I am perfectly happy with what I got. Right now my priority is making a world—yes, making a world—and finding Joselyn and resurrecting Jared. So you know, just another Tuesday." She made her way out of the room, and Marinette turned,

"I have to ask, are you two siblings?"

"Step-siblings, but yeah. Sadly, she's more family to me than my actual family—other than my kids."

"You have kids?"

"Yeah. Catra and Hugo. They're good kids. Their mother…isn't around."

"Oh…" she sent him a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He kissed her hand, "I have faith that everything will be alright soon."

OoOoO

The first thing Hana registered when she woke up was Eden. Then Ramsey licking her face. Her whole body hurt, but this was the first time she could think straight since…actually, how long had it been since…? She had no idea.

"It's been about two months." Eden said, "It's a good thing we remembered about the flowers, otherwise you would still be sick. Kagami's still on bedrest but fine, Chipmunk is miserable from the pain of roasting himself, and you Miss need to lay back down since you are by far the most ill."

"What happened?" She rasped out, sighing in relief when she was given water.

"You, Chipmunk and Kagami are the only remaining stone wielders."

"Kelly? Plagg? Other Jared?" Eden bowed and shook her head, and Hana felt her stomach tighten.

"I…"

"Try to save your strength." She assured, "You'll recover sooner that way." She then noticed Amhar trying to get up on the bed. Eden looked at her child struggling, before he teleported next to Hana, smiling.

"Hey Amhar," she grinned, ruffling the small child's hair, earning a matching smile from the boy. He curled up next to her and fell asleep.

"He's been worried about you." Eden muttered, "Always bringing me things. Every time I worry he's learned the truth, he's just trying to help me take care of you."

"Cute." She looked down at the boy who was basically her ward, seeing as her…girlfriend?… wanted nothing to do with him, "You're okay with me taking care of him if we do try…"

"Dating? Yeah, I don't care. As long as he doesn't get any ideas about me." She hesitated, before crashing her lips on Hana's who didn't hesitate to return it.

It could have been a second or an hour, Hana didn't care. But when they broke apart, she saw Eden was blushing. Then she crossed her arms,

"After I lovingly nurse you back to health, I am going to kill you, you stupid bitch." Hana rolled her eyes, noticing her hair which had been down to her naval was now shorter and at her shoulders.

"You know, I was personally hoping to make out. But have it your way." She laid back down, noticing Amhar smiling while he slept. She recoiled a little, sensing the power swirling within him. Maybe it was her sleep powers, or maybe it was her Shadow Charmer powers, but she could sense it in a way she hadn't been able to before.

Then again, Amhar's powers were likely growing alongside him. But if he could rival Felix at such an early age…

She feared for what he could do when he was older.

Still, she laid down and let Eden tend to her. It wasn't long before she drifted asleep.

OoOoO

Catra observed Otar once again.

From the moment he came into existence, he would walk around Innistrad at any time of night. He didn't claim to have a reason for sticking around with them, but she assumed it had to do with the fact keeping track of a bunch of magical idiots and children was a generally smart idea, especially with the crazy divine powers of Felix, and the angels that could be coming to kill him any day—reasons Felix never left Sam's mansion.

As to why a child was out at two in the morning, bouncing from rooftops and trees, writing observations about a lich…well, it was because she was alone.

For her entire life, she had been told she was the Goddess of Destruction. But with Plagg dead, and Joselyn—the necromancer—missing, Otar was the closest she had to someone like her.

From what she observed, he didn't have much to offer. He didn't do much in the way of anything other than exist. She remembered Danielle downright asking Otar why he existed if he wasn't going to do anything, and he might as well give Jared back. They were all pretty sure he would hold off on bringing Jared back, just to spite Danielle. Fools who run their mouth wind up dead, and it was nothing short of a miracle that blunt girl wasn't dead yet. Or maybe it was her bullshit powers keeping her alive. Either way, she needed to figure out her filter.

Though Catra had to admit Danielle had a point. Lich were supposed to be powerful necromancers, but this one just walked or listened to Camille talk—though nobody knew if he was actually listening or if it was going in one ear and out the other.

She knew full well that he knew she was following him every night. He had seen her a couple times. But he didn't care. Didn't ask why she was following him, or even do anything other than have an expression of "oh, it's you," ever time he saw her.

A part of her wanted to attack him with her Destruction to see what he would do, but she was _not_ suicidal.

She continued to watch him curiously. She realized she might be being stupid. Maybe she could just ask him about his powers? But then she decided that would be awkward, since pretty much everyone wanted him to stop existing.

Catra herself didn't have an opinion on the matter because she had only met Jared a handful of times over the years, and only for a few seconds. So her life was only truly affected by the loss of her sister, grandparents, and her mother's amnesia. Some considered her cold and uncaring because of this, but she just wanted to focus on learning more about a power that could destroy—more specifically get it to not do that.

If she could find a way to master her powers, she wouldn't be useless again. She would have to watch her sister be shot in the heart with an Ashwood arrow, if she could destroy it with a thought. Jared and the others wouldn't have died if she could destroy Kahu, then this whole mess would be avoided.

So she would keep up the routine, night after night, no matter how long it took.

OoOoO

Aelin sat on the roof that night, looking up at the stars. She hadn't really ever liked nighttime, because she didn't know what was lurking inside the shadows. While her mother and Hana were good, there were others who weren't. But in this moment, she found it peaceful.

In her hands was her flame, the sake of her name. Aelin Fire-Bringer. Yes, she was powerful with her fire, but then there was Felix, significantly stronger with the same power, and he was a fucking angel, but a pyromancer.

Another factor was control. When she was small, there were days she couldn't touch anything, lest she burn it. Felix could dominate in a heartbeat and get little drain from it.

She knew she shouldn't be comparing herself to Felix. He was an entirely different species—literally!—but it wasn't like she was taking her name literally or expected great power because of who her parents were, but… it did hurt, to feel like the weakest of her siblings. Roxas's phasing had been confirmed by Jared to be damn near unstoppable, if he just got the hang of hand-to-hand combat. Danielle's bullshit powers left her untouched and getting whatever she wanted. Felix was a baby god. And there there was Aelin with her fire. What was so special about that?

Once, she had wanted to be a hero, but the war had shown her that everyone was better off without her. She needed to be stronger before she was worthy of her parents. She knew they would insist on the opposite, but she also wanted to prove it to herself.

So, she packed her bag, looking for somewhere to go, someone to teach her how to control her fire as a weapon and not just the control taught to her by Connor.

Roxas was the one who caught her packing a bag.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. Somewhere. I need to get stronger, that way I can prove I'm not useless."

"Why not ask Mom or Dad?" Aelin looked to him, knowing he couldn't see her, but the way he stared made her wonder for a moment if he could. She hesitated to answer his question,

"Because I don't want to bother them, or have any bias since they are my parents. I need someone who will train me fair and square." She packed her bag, looking in the mirror. She was still young, not like she could get a job to pay fees. But she'd find a way. She laughed humorlessly at the streaks of white in her hair, inherited from her Dad. Why she had them? She had no idea, but they did enhance her features.

She hugged her brother, "Don't tell them I'm gone. I don't want them to worry."

"It won't take them long." Roxas replied, "And you know I'm telling them the moment you're out of earshot. They won't stop looking for you."

"That's why I'll make sure they won't recognize me." He blinked, and she ruffled his hair, "I can't tell you how, silly. But don't worry. I'll be back before you know it." She walked out of the room, and sighed with a smile when she heard Roxas yell,

"I know it!" Now, she had to get out of the city, tonight, otherwise her parents would catch her.

While walking, she noticed a poster promoting a new magic school. Perfect! And everyone said Danielle was the lucky one. Good thing she had taken one of Adrien's wallets—because he was a billionaire, he wouldn't miss one with fifty-thousand euros.

"Aelin Maeve Sommers, where the hell do you think you're going?" She froze and turned to see her Dad behind her. He took in the bag and the poster in her hand, crossing his arms, "Roxas told us you were leaving. Your mother fell trying to find you." _Damnit Roxas._

"I…" He frowned, looking at the poster,

"Magic school?" He looked at her, "…Do you need to talk?"

"You're not mad?"

"I was furious." Eli admitted, "You shouldn't have scared your mother and I like that, but I think I know what's going on. Come on, walk with me." Aelin hesitated, but followed him.

"So…"

"Why were you trying to run off to magic school?" He asked, and Aelin played with a strand of hair,

"I… don't want to be useless or weaker than my siblings. I'm just a pyromancer, and a clumsy one at that."

"So? You may look roughly ten, but you are barely five. You're not meant to be crazy powerful right now. Yours just takes a little more mastery than that of Roxas or Danielle. I don't think Dani is even capable of controlling it, and Roxas has to master it to function properly. But you are special, Aelin, you know that?"

"Every father says that to their daughter." She muttered, and he shook his head,

"That may be true, but I saw you on the field that day. Like on stage in theater, without the ensemble, there is no show. You played a crucial part, even if it was small. With more practice, you will get bigger roles." He sighed, "Why didn't you just ask me or your mother or aunt if you wanted some practice instead of running off into the night."

"I didn't want to burden you guys, especially with all that's going on. One less kid to deal with, the better." She froze when she felt her Dad's arm around her shoulder,

"I'm afraid you get that low self-esteem from me. I'm still not over it." Aelin scoffed,

"You? Low self-esteem? You're joking, there is no way someone as awesome as you could be insecure." Eli looked down at her,

"Is that what you think? Well Aunt Hana can tell you countless stories of my issues. Did you know Aunt Hana had to trip your mother to get me to stop panicking and just talk to her?"

"Really?!"

"Oh yeah. Your grandfather too, can vouch that I am the most insecure being alive. No particular reason, that's just the way I'm wired. I do my best to hide it since you and Roxas were born—hell, _Felix_ probably has stories, like the time I fainted when your mother learned my superhero identity."

"What?!" Eli laughed,

"Oh there are so many stories I can tell where I made a total fool of myself because I was too nervous to do things or 'be a burden' on people." His expression went serious, "I don't want you to suffer like I did. I am perfectly happy to help you, but if this school is what you want, I'll pay for it." He looked at the poster, "Oh, wow. This isn't a private school. It's a public school on the remains of an old world. Might be a good place to have you and your siblings attend. So win win."

Aelin then realized that just talking to her Dad had made her feel better, and she realized how irrational she had been. She held his hand,

"Can you tell me more stories about you and Mom?" He nodded,

"Sure, Fireheart."

**A/N: More characters will be shown in the next chapter with this crew. I'm probably going to do that next before more of Jared in the afterlife, since those chapters are much longer.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36: Warm Regards**

Amelia and Harrison weren't on Innistrad. They hadn't been in weeks. Camille didn't want anything to do with them, so both they'd decided to go on a trip together. Some time without kids and time to get themselves together.

Amelia sat at the lake, on the dock, Harrison by her side. Both were wearing white, and watching the sunset. White was the true color of despair, not black. At least black had a color, white was just blank and mirrored two souls that had been crushed time and time again.

It was really hard, losing Kelly again. They remembered the pain of losing him the first time, but this time Harrison had no hope of being able to bring him back, and it showed.

She held Harrison's hand, "You're doing okay, right?" By okay, she was asking if he was in danger of falling back on dangerous habits—drugs. She wasn't sure she would be able to take it if she lost him too.

He sighed, "I'm not in danger of that. I didn't even go on that route willingly…"

"What?" She froze, having never heard this. And he started crying,

"I was on a walk to clear my head…no bodyguards…just me walking down the sketchy parts of the city to avoid the press…that's when I was abducted by drug dealers who knew full well who I was—or more specifically the money I had. They didn't care about the fact I was a single father, they just wanted my money. Forced it into my system and kept me there until I was addicted. And then it was too late and…"

"Shhh…" she held him close, "I never _blamed_ you. Though now I'm gonna ask Mor to go find those pricks in her system so I can go beat on 'em." He chuckled,

"That fire is one of many reasons I married you." Then the mood was somber again, "I'm nothing without you two. I still have you, and for that I am eternally grateful…but I feel really lost."

"Me too." She agreed, "I've known him forever, so it's weird not having him around." Then she smiled, "Mor, stop pretending you aren't here." Morrigan appeared a mere moment later, wearing a simple turquoise gown.

"Hello." She said, "Can I join you?"

"Yeah." Amelia replied, "Have you seriously not changed at all? I would think being the Phantom Queen would give you a confidence boost."

"Not really. I think your son got it from me." She sat down, "Kelly's fine. Exhausted and weak, but he'll be good with a little TLC. And I already scared Grim into ensuring I get Harrison in the afterlife."

"That's good, because I'm getting old." Harrison was in his mid-forties as of now, and didn't have immortality like the others did, so he was technically old by comparison to the others who were all eternally in their twenties. Morrigan shrugged,

"I mean…I could fix that once you're in your sixties, but for now you just gotta deal…" Harrison shrugged,

"Does death mean _anything_ for this family?"

"Not really." Morrigan answered, "Mainly because y'all either befriended or I scare 5/7 members of the council, and Cradh doesn't care in the slightest unless either a) something happens to Grim, in which he will try to gain control of the humans, or b) a planeswalker joins the family. I've already got the Joselyn thing covered, and he has to deal with it unless he wants to give Plagg to Freya, which I doubt he is going to do."

"Makes me wonder why Jared offed himself." Amelia muttered bitterly, "If death means basically nothing." Morrigan shrugged,

"I don't know what was going through his head, and he doesn't know we can revive him the moment Otar stops existing. But he does long for Camille, at least subconsciously. I ended up putting one of my wyrms in his head." She held out her hand and a tiny black wyrm appeared. It looked like a little earthworm made of dark energy, but both of the people seeing it knew that little thing could torment a person into a vegetative state, or they could off themselves to make the pain stop—that was a common outcome too.

"Damn." Harrison muttered, "I know we're angry, but isn't that a little harsh? Jesus, I feel like we should cut the guy some slack if you put _that_ _thing_ in his head."

"True." Morrigan put the wyrm away, "It's been in his head for about three days, and I plan to remove it before permanent damage kicks in."

"I've heard rumors that those things are worse than the Spears of Gungnir." Amelia mused, and Morrigan nodded,

"Oh they most certainly are. It's a miracle Kahu didn't realize Kelly can use them, otherwise Zoe wouldn't have returned to us. The main difference is that it gives the victim a slow and agonizing death instead of fast."

"So that's more of a torture method than anything." Harrison mused, "Why does Kelly know how to use them?"

"Self-defense on Earth before he knew how brutal they were." Morrigan said, then she brightened, "Oh! And I need you guys to choose which of these tattoos to give Jared." Both lovers raised a questioning eyebrow,

"Why?" Morrigan clarified,

"Well, since Jared has died or something along those lines so many times, we on the council have decided to do a thing where he gets a tattoo every time we revive him. He already has the Mark of the Made on his arm and the Celtic symbol on his shoulder, and that's just from being Made into a stone wielder and Daemati. But…" she pulled out some pictures, "We need someone to decide which ones we use for the first revival when he met Viirus, and this one, and then a backup in case he dies again—which is gonna happen again according to the book, don't worry it doesn't last ten minutes and it's in a little over a decade."

"Do any of you take your job seriously?" Harrison asked, "And why does this one claim possession of Jared, only written in the ancient tongue?" Morrigan took the picture and groaned,

"Damnit. Well thanks for the heads up on that." She tossed it into the lake, "There. Custody crisis avoided. And we do take our jobs seriously, but we do like to play around with the outliers who are too stubborn to stay dead."

"Ah." Amelia looked them over, "I like these ones." She handed her twin three of them, "And I do wonder why nothing ridiculous is an option."

"Because he would cut it out." Morrigan said with a laugh, "And I'm not _that_ cruel after putting a wyrm in his head." She frowned, "Do you guys really hate him? I'm not sure I could pull him back if he thought nobody wanted him back. Joselyn is still who knows where—every time I get a reading on her, she vanishes again, and I'm not risking asking Cradh."

"No, we don't hate him." Harrison replied, "Angry, yes, but I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder. But I _will_ slap him when he gets back. He's like a son to us, I don't think we even have it in us to permanently hate him. I am willing to listen to what he has to say about it."

"Good." Morrigan smiled, "You know Kelly wouldn't want you to grieve either. You'll see both him and Jared again—albeit in different ways—and you _know_ Kels is gonna playfully haunt you. But seriously, give Jared a chance if he comes back, because the act of actually coming back from that kind of death requires going to the Oracle and then ending up in a situation that could lead to a person falling to despair. So he will have basically crawled out of hell to get back. Give him a chance." Both lovers brightened. All it took was a conversation with Morrigan and they both felt better about the situation. Harrison got up,

"Okay! Now I need to build something that tracks the location of ghosts!" He and Amelia ran into their cabin, and Morrigan sighed, smiling.

Freya appeared, "So what did they pick?" Morrigan handed her the choices and she grinned,

"Nice." She put her hands on her hips, "Do you think Jared will even accept the job as king?"

"I don't know. The idea that he would have to have kids unless Joselyn returns might be an automatic no, and even then that puts _Zoe_ in line for the throne. But to be fair, he wouldn't have to do much other than go to the occasional meeting, keep the Sidhe from sacrificing innocent princes, and preventing some of Kahu's Fae followers from trying to resurrect him—though him hearing that you haven't had time to make a law against doing that, so anyone could revive the bastard…if nothing else puts him on the throne, that will. The Fae kind of run themselves, so as long as he avoids assassination—which fortunately wouldn't happen according to the book—he would be fine and only have the benefits of phenomenal power, access to unlimited knowledge, preventing Kahu resurrection, enough money to pay for Joselyn's therapy, and pretty much anything he could ask for."

"Maybe you should do the talking there." Freya mused, "Sounds like basic perfection when you put it that way,"

"Yeah, well, I'm being honest. I wouldn't understand why you want to step down if I didn't know the business being a council member adds on. But do you really think he'll listen to me since I've become the villain for him right now, and put a wyrm in his head?"

"True." Freya then gestured down to herself, "What'd you think?" Gone was her formal dress, instead a white sweater with pink flowers, and pale blue jeans, "Zoe took me shopping, saying I needed something else in my closet other than one dress."

"She's right." Morrigan said, "And it looks nice on you."

"Thanks." Freya looked to the lake, to the snow that was started to fall from the night sky, "Yuletide is coming up. We should prepare." The members of the council didn't celebrate Christmas or any other modern holiday, instead celebrating the Winter Solstice, and it was one of few days where they didn't argue.

"Right. And I should check on Jared. My wyrm is doing a number on him."

OoOoO

Quantic Jared woke up and had no idea where he was. He knew he had been slipping in and out of consciousness for a while, but he didn't know how long 'a while' was.

The first thing he felt was stiffness. Once his vision cleared—though he had to put his glasses on first for everything to really become clear—he noticed there were rather brutal burn scars on his body, and he was shirtless, which he did not like.

"Jared! You're awake!" He blinked a few times, registering the arms around his neck.

"K-Kaylee?" Kaylee nodded, and memories of Kahu and The Tragedy and the war came back to his mind. He wrapped his arms around her and broke down in tears. He was already a huge softie when it came to his sister, but having spent who-knows-how-long not knowing if she was okay made the hug even tighter.

They stayed like that for a while, before they broke the hug.

"How did you get here?" He asked, still letting tears fall, "How long has it been since Kahu…?"

"It's been two months. A boy named Felix found me, saying he and his family had been looking for me. They brought me here and told me how you had become a celebrated hero. But you were sick, really sick. Only a couple hours ago did Dausi remember a cure."

"Celebrated hero?" He looked around the infirmary and frowned when he only saw Hana and Kagami—the latter looking quite distressed from where she was talking to Chloe, "Where are Kelly, Plagg and Other Me?" Kaylee frowned,

"Were they your friends?" _Past tense? Oh no…_

"Plagg is the only one I would call 'friend' since he was the least crazy of everyone, but I do like Kelly and Other Me. Are you saying they're dead?" He had thought they were preparing for the worst on the ship, not an actual guarantee!

Kaylee nodded, "Yeah. There's a debate going about whether Other Jared's death was sacrifice or suicide, but other than that everyone is pretty torn up about the deaths. There were others too, but that was before I came. Your girlfriend left about an hour ago once she was sure that you would survive."

"My girlfriend?" He knew for a fact he did not have a girlfriend—in his dreams? Sure, but unless this was a coma dream, he was still very single.

"You know, Alexa? Tan skin, hazel eyes, brown hair in a bun, very beautiful?" Oh. _Oh_.

"No no, she's just a friend." Then Zoe appeared out of nowhere,

"You said the three dreaded words, that means you must go make out with her."

"WHAT THE—?!" He threw a hand over his mouth to stop himself, and noticed Kaylee's bemused expression. He managed to control his surprise, and stared at Zoe, who was looking much more sane—even though she didn't physically look any different other than the fact that for the first time in years she had brushed her hair, but there was a more relaxed aura to her than the unpredictability she usually had, "How did you get here, and how long have you been listening?"

"I walked here, and I've been here delivering 'healing flower stew'. And Alexa is leaving _right now_, so unless you want to be a virgin forever, I recommend getting your ass out of bed and going to get her." It was more to escape this conversation that got him out of bed, noticing he felt completely fine one he stretched his legs. He had expected more pain if he had been sick for two months.

He didn't so much run, rather briskly walk after finding a shirt, jacket and boots to hide the fact he was still in pajama pants.

"Alexa!" He called, seeing her standing in a less populated part of town.

Alexa turned, and he saw she was wearing a black newsboy cap, a gold tunic, an olive-green overcoat, black pants, and brown boots. She blinked at him,

"Jared? You're up." To his surprise, he wasn't panting from the running he had done once he had her in his line of sight. Maybe enhanced endurance was a perk of being a stone wielder. He'd have to test that, and the healing properties of that flower.

"I wanted to at least say goodbye." He said, "Where are you going?"

"I still have a quest, remember?" She smiled, "I've wasted enough time as it is. Father is out there somewhere."

"How do you even know he's still alive?" Alexa sighed,

"I don't. But I have hope." Jared smiled, holding her hand, which was already cold from where they were standing in the snow.

"Tell you what, give me a little time, stay with us until Christmas, and I'll talk to Grim Reaper to see if your father is even alive. I'd ask now, but I have a feeling he's kind of busy right now." Alexa smiled,

"Thank you, Jared. I'm not used to people wanting me around." He started dragging her back to Sam's mansion,

"Well that's going to change. I know Zoe is going to not let you leave once she gets her hands on you. There is no escape once you get kidnapped by the Carpenter family."

"But I wasn't kidnapped. I willingly came to help you." He turned, grinning,

"Then you're lucky. But as bitter as I am about being kidnapped and not being able to finish college, I have at least positive-acquaintances here. If you're serious about not really having friends, then I feel like I should fix that. I mean, you and I are friends, right?" A startled shrug. He shrugged in turn,

"Come on, it's getting dark, and it's cold enough. Internal fire or no, I don't think either of us will find it pleasant out here."

"…Okay. Let's go back."

OoOoO

Kagami was crying on Chloe's shoulder after getting the news about (Psychic) Jared. He was like her brother, and he was honestly, truly, gone.

Now, she had had "The Otar Situation" explained to her, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. It could bring Jared back, but who knew how long that would take. What if more than one person talking to Otar made bringing Jared back take longer? She didn't know, and it scared her. And the option of bringing him back put the grieving process strictly in denial.

Trying to distract herself, she thought about her relationship with Chloe. Now, the Blight version of Chloe had been put through a wood-chipper, so maybe there was a protectiveness over this version of the girl. Though she survived a war with no powers other than a pistol, agility, and martial art skills, so she seemed to be able to handle herself just fine. And she did see Chloe as attractive. Maybe something could come of it, but now was not the time.

Camille came in, "Hey Kagami, glad to see you're up." Looking at her friend, Kagami could see what Plagg had meant about the mating bond severing being extremely painful for the one left alive. While Camille didn't have the dead look like Joselyn had had during the time Jared was in a coma—and oh god, she just realized she didn't know how Joselyn was taking this—she wasn't looking too good. She was paler than normal, with dark bags under her eyes, but she didn't seem thinner or sickly, and that was good. Camille looked simply tired—maybe a little tired with life, but not in a suicidal way.

"I'm glad to be awake." Kagami looked down at herself, at the scars on her body, "Burnout scars?" Camille nodded,

"We're lucky the flower is as powerful as it is, otherwise you would still have those burns."

"Flower?" Camille pulled a golden flower out of a bowl Kagami hadn't noticed next to her bed.

"This little thing took out two months worth of illness in seconds. Feel free to experiment on it as you will, we have plenty." She looked out the window, "Sam is off doing archmage stuff; Mara and Eli are trying to take advantage of her Blackwell heritage to form alliances with other witch and warlock covens; the kids are attending school first thing tomorrow to get a feel for it before Christmas to see if it's a good fit; Zoe and Eden are trying to create their own world and figuring out the rules of that; the others are looking for Joselyn; and Otar is wandering the city most likely, he does that a lot. So…enjoy this time in peace since you probably won't get it again. And I recommend you change out of those sweat-soaked clothes." She left with a hollow smile.

Kagami looked to Chloe, who shrugged, and then got out of bed to change into a simple blue shirt and black pants.

"You look nice." Chloe said. Kagami simply smiled, still trying to distract herself from thinking about the loss of his home and brother. She wished she could have ran a rapier through Kahu to slay the beast in proper fashion, but knowing that son of a bitch was burning in hell where he belonged left her satisfied enough.

"Good to see you're up." She turned and saw Micah leaning against the wall.

"Oh, hello Micah." Micah waved a little.

"Just came to check on you." He said, "And letting you know that Joselyn is alive and _not_ a suicidal mess. She's missing, but we got that off her. Can't keep a reading for long, but from what we can tell her sanity is more-or-less intact."

"Well that's good at least, about her being relatively okay." She rubbed her eyes, deciding to ignore her hippie death entity. She was still too tired to ask too many question, and the main thing on her mind other than her grief was being hungry.

"Chloe, where is the pantry?" Micah rolled his eyes,

"Well I was just checking in. Bye." He vanished, and Chloe helped Kagami to the kitchen,

"We better hurry before someone tries to cook and somehow steak becomes magnetic again."

"What?!"

"You don't want to know." Chloe replied, "But I have been told to tell you it was worse than the 'Roast Chicken Incident' and that you would know what that means."

Kagami shuddered.

OoOoO

First day of school. For Roxas and Aelin, which was a big deal, since the preschool they went to sucked ass. So now they were in this magic school, so things were hopefully gonna be different.

Danielle had already used her luck to break the vending machine, and now they had plenty of snacks.

Felix looked to his siblings, "Okay, kids, remember—"

"Don't get into unprovoked trouble." The three youths repeated, since Eli and Zoe had drilled them on it that morning. The children of a Worldbender and a Warlock, who were both parented by either a powerful mind mage or a Blackwell witch…yeah, these kids were really damn powerful, all they needed was training.

"Alright, so I have alchemy." Felix said, "Looking at his schedule, "I'll meet you guys by the spot during lunch." The spot he was referring to was a small hill they had landed on while arriving on this world. Even if there were others there, it was a good meeting spot.

"Okay okay, Fe." Danielle snapped, "I want to go meet kids my age."

"You're like three." Aelin reminded her, getting the finger from her younger sister,

"Oh screw you, you know what I mean." She flipped her white-silver hair and walked off to class. Roxas looked in the general direction of where she left.

"How is it that Dad's the one to have brought her into the world, but she is basically a blunter and sassier version of Mom?"

"Blame Pops?" Aelin mused, referring to Kelly, as the bell rang. Once again, "Blame Kelly" was the answer to a question regarding family.

The twins ran off, and Felix walked to his own class, settling into a seat in the corner of the room, feeling shy with his wings still ruined behind him. Not even the flowers could fix the damage done by the Blind Eternities.

"Hello Angel. What are you doing over here, and with your wings out?" Felix turned and saw a young woman around his age. She was pretty with golden hair, gold-flecked black eyes, and a broken nose.

"Nephilim." He corrected, because that was really the only reason he could give for his wings even being visible, "Wing got destroyed and glamors don't work right now. As for what I am doing, I am sitting. Why?"

"This is the general area where Sardothien sits."

"Sardothien?"

"Yeah." The bell rang again, and the girl sat down, "Bailey, by the way. Don't say I didn't warn you."

The teacher came in, "Okay class—" they were interrupted by something flying through the open window.

And Felix found himself face to face with the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen—and that was saying _a lot_.

This girl, also around his physical age, was a stunning girl with long ebony hair like a raven's feathers, and indigo eyes with flecks of silver like starlight. She also had tattoos decorating her arms and a chest he did his best not to look at, and he was much more interested in her wings.

She had giant, smooth membranous wings that had a hint of iridescence and were clawed like a bat's.

She wore rich clothing; an dark blue tunic brocaded with silver, dark pants and black boots that reached her knees

She radiated sensual grace and ease, and looked him over.

"New kid?" He nodded, doing his best to keep his cool, especially when he noticed her nails could turn into claws.

"Yeah. I take it you're the 'Sardothien' that was mentioned. What are you, some queen of the school?"

"Yes to the first question and no to the second." She said, looking him over as though she was debating how much of a threat he was, "I don't stoop low enough to throw a fit over the new kid sitting in the general area of my seat. You're not doing anything wrong, Nephilim."

"Felix." He said, "My name is Felix Sommers."

"Amaya Sardothien. Heir to the Sardothien witch coven." She looked him over, "Say, is your father Eli Sommers?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just needed to know what I'm dealing with, since he came to visit my mother, sister and I a couple days ago to discuss peace with other covens—which hasn't happened in generations. I needed to know how much of a threat your family poses to my coven." She sat down in her seat about three seats down.

His eyes locked on hers, wide and wild. Shock—pure shock ran through him and flashed across his features at whatever he saw on her face, and he stumbled back a step. Actually stumbled, falling out of his seat.

"Are you okay?" Someone asked, and Felix blinked, looking at the bemused Amaya, who winked.

"I'm told my irresistible looks does that to people. Good to know it words on an Angel too."

Oh shit. He was in _trouble_.

…

Roxas didn't know what the hell he was doing, relying on echolocation and his phasing to dominate in his combat class.

The kids in his class had immediately tried to move him to a handicapped class once they got a look at his unseeing eyes. Someone called him worthless. That was what started the anger. What caused him to drop his backpack and fight. Since phasing wasn't his only power, just his affinity, he commanded light with great specialization, becoming an even more phenomenally dangerous foe.

He did wonder what his parents would think of this. But this was combat class, and apparently he did have his mother's temper.

He glided at fast speeds, so fast in fact that he left behind a lens flare, and controlled thirteen sword-shaped shields of light energy which connected to form a laser array.

And then he won.

"W-Woah." One of the students, a boy, said, "Did _not_ see that coming. Are you sure you're in the right class? The advanced class is upstairs." Roxas frowned,

"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be in here." The instructor sounded equally stunned, but also smug.

"I _told_ the principal that a child with Blackwell blood was going to dominate." Roxas heard the footsteps of her leaving, "Got a video and everything. To the advanced class you're gonna go tomorrow." He turned when he felt someone tapping his shoulder.

"Oh…sorry about what I said…about you being blind." The boy apologized, "I really got my ass handed to me."

"I just want to be like everyone else." Roxas admitted, "And now I've gone from cripple to advanced. Not too thrilled about that." The boy wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and Roxas could guess from voice and height that this person was likely a year or so older,

"Don't worry about it. At least you don't need to worry about expectations, Blackwell."

"Sommers. I'm the warlock's son."

"The Blackwell coven has a warlock?" Someone else mused, "Didn't expect that."

"Yeah." Roxas sat down, relieved to finally change the subject. These kids had magic too, maybe he could learn some, "After my Great-Grandmother Regina—the Matron—died, there was nothing against males being born into the line. But because of the customs, the line has split between the Blackwell coven with my grandmother as the Matron, and the Sommers coven with my father as the Patriarch until either myself or one of my sisters takes over. My aunt, Camille, still has the Blackwell name though, and her mate will either take her name and join the coven, or it would split off and become the Brock coven." Yes, he did firmly believe Jared would come back, and did his best to stay out of the 'sacrifice or suicide' debate since it didn't really matter in the long run.

"Wow." One student said, "Wait hold it, when you say Brock…are you telling me your family is the ones who beat Kahu?!" Shit. Well, this wasn't supposed to be a secret, just not recommended to tell.

"The stone wielders did most of the work. But I know them. Unfortunately, three of the six main heroes are dead, and the other three are ill." He tried to hide it, but he really did miss Kelly. There was a special bond between grandpa and grandson, and it hurt to lose that. Felix had always had more of a connection to Harrison.

"Well send them our well wishes." The boy said, "Oh, and I'm Noah. I know we got off to a rough start, but tensions are high right now. Maybe try lunch together?"

"Roxas. And I'll see you then, after I check with my brother."

…

Aelin knew she was in over her head. After a little pulling of strings from Eli, she had a tutor for her fire magic—seriously, it was very strange trying to compare the confident man she knew to the insecure mess he and Aunt Hana had told her he used to be. Apparently getting married really helped his self-confidence. Or maybe it was the fact he could mist someone who tried to hurt him in the ways Douglas did.

Rhydian was his name. For some reason, being around him reminded Aelin of Joselyn if she had self-esteem. He was about 6'0, lean, and had messy raven hair. His eyes were like opals, changing color with the light. He also had a scar on his neck, almost like something had been around his neck for a long time, but since removed.

"Focus, Aelin." He said, cupping a flame in his hand. Apparently he had the power to copy, manipulate, or even take away the powers of others—an extremely rare power. He'd had to train for years, so he would a good option for her. "Don't let your magic control you. _You_ control _it_."

She tried, she really did, but it was extremely difficult. She'd never learned this way. She had only seen people using magic like an extra limb, so she felt weak for not being like that but was also too scared to ask for help.

She grunted, trying to get a kernel of fire out. Rhydian had suggested getting a handle on her affinity before trying other abilities.

Then she felt something giving her magic a little push, guiding her. She managed to summon a version of Joselyn made entirely of fire. Rhydian frowned at the fire-girl,

"Who is she?"

"My aunt, Joselyn. She's only a little older than I am, but she went missing during The Tragedy."

"Oh." He watched the fire-Joselyn vanish, "I hope you find her. Now I want you to try conjuring something with your flames, this time without my help. But don't be afraid to ask for some."

So she did. It was hard, but she managed to create a wolf made entirely of fire. Rhydian nodded his approval.

Then the ground shook.

"Wha—" Rhydian ran out, which had Aelin worried. Sh grabbed his hand instinctively, "What was that?!" He turned,

"It came from the enchantments building. My friends are in there!" He ran out of one building and into another. Aelin paled when she realized that was the building Danielle was in.

"Damnit Dani." Aelin cursed.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37: Curse of Luck**

Aelin looked to the burning building, where Rhydian was ready to run in, not caring at all if it was safe for him. She had seen that look on her parents before. He looked to her, and then he held his hands up, which brought all the flame to him, which he put out in mere seconds.

"Woah!" She looked to him, "How did you—"

"Master your power? It's not my first rodeo coping the powers of a pyromancer. Though I will admit wind manipulation would have also been useful here." He then ran into the building, "We have to get the injured out!"

"Are you sure it's safe?" He turned,

"Maybe not for you, but I've lost enough, my friends are _not_ going be added to the list." He ran in, and Aelin decided to follow.

It didn't take long for her to spot Danielle, completely unharmed, unlike the rest of her class, who were trapped.

"Dani!" Aelin called, "What happened?!"

"There was a lab explosion." Danielle replied, "I messed something up with the potion I was making, and it seems my safety came at the cost of everyone else." She was shaking, her white hair stained black and brown with dirt.

"Okay, maybe we should have taken into account your bullshit powers when we decided to take you to school." Aelin looked around. The room wasn't stable, there were ten students in here including Danielle. What to do, what to do…

She brightened. "Okay, Dani, I have a plan. Might get us all killed, but it might work." Danielle nodded as Aelin slowly walked closer, opening a window and creating a slide of fire. "Now jump."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"Just do it, your bullshit will keep you from harm and that's what I'm relying on." Danielle got up, and looked at the fire,

"If I die because of you, I'm gonna beat the shit out of you." She jumped out and, just as Aelin predicted, the fire turned to ice, creating a slide that was safe for others to use.

Not all of the students were unconscious. All students were injured though.

"Come on, can you walk?" She asked one, a girl about Rhydian's age, who nodded. She was pretty, but not stunningly beautiful, with chestnut hair woven into a braid, stunning brown eyes flecked with green, and a golden-tan skin tone.

"Y-Yeah." She smiled, "Thanks. It's just my shoulder. I'm Robin, by the way." Aelin turned,

"Okay, anyone else who can walk, please do so carefully." About five more got up, which just left the ones with leg injuries and the two unconscious ones.

It was a slow process, but Aelin knew she had to hurry since the building was going to collapse at any time. She hurried things along and managed to get down the injured, with herself being the last one out.

Then the building collapsed.

Aelin sighed in relief when she saw the injured were being cared for, and Rhydian had a couple more people with him. She froze when she realized he was doing CPR on another boy.

This boy was classically beautiful, but near-unreadable. He was fairly short, about 5'5, with dirty blonde hair, sun-kissed skin, and near-transparent pixie wings. He was lean, not muscular, just average in that sense. His most memorable feature was the sparkles in his hair.

"Come on, Iggy." Rhydian snarled, "Don't you _dare_." The other people there, including Robin, were shaking in either terror or grief.

Aelin then had an idea, placing a hand on the boy's chest, and using her pyromancy.

"What are you doing?!" A young woman growled. Aelin noted that this girl had a charming allure. She had neatly braided red-gold hair, which wove elegantly through a flower crown. Her skin was white, which both complemented her ruby lips and said flower crown. Her elegance had an atmosphere of warmth. She was missing a hand.

Then the boy started coughing as Aelin relit his internal fire that came with being a magic wielder. He opened his eyes, and she saw his eyes were grey, and the planes of his face were elegant.

"Ignasis?" Rhydian exhaled. The pixie boy, Ignasis apparently, shuddered. It was then that Aelin noticed his leg was snapped and the bone was showing. Quickly, she pulled out the emergency healing flower she kept on her,

"Eat this, it will make the pain stop." Ignasis took the flower in shaking hands, and took a bite. Within a few bites, the wound on his leg was completely gone.

"Wow." Another boy said. He was slender and had brown skin and hair, kissed with gold as if the sunrise had permanently gilded them. And he had rich brown eyes like freshly tilled fields, were his loveliest feature.

There was one other girl who hadn't spoken yet. She was small and painfully thin, bordering on gaunt and covered in too many dark bruises to be accidental. She also had a thick scar on her elbow. She had brown hair with hints of purple hidden in there, wearing a black dress and headband. She had on red lipstick and blue eyeshadow, which gave off the illusion of health.

Ignasis was leaning in Robin's arms, "T-Thanks…"

"No problem." Aelin said, then looked to the others, "I'm Aelin."

"Tarsa." The redhead said.

"Spencer." The brown-skinned boy said.

"Indigo." The thin girl said, but she sounded more cheerful than expected.

Rhydian grinned at Aelin, "Have you realized what you just did?" Aelin thought about the last fifteen minutes, before her eyes widened.

"I controlled my flames!" She was overjoyed. One day and she was figuring it out!

"You saved lives." Rhydian said happily, "Including the life of my childhood best friend." He gestured to Ignasis, "Looks like adrenaline and a desire to help is what focuses you. Good to know." He sighed, "That sister of yours on the other hand, don't expect your parents to be in a good mood tonight."

"Yeah, kinda figured."

OoOoO

Zoe was downright miserable.

She tried not to say anything, but being revived by Eli did not end her physical torment. It was more than just her leg too.

Blazze's flaming knives had not only cut into flesh, but also cauterized the wounds on the inside, meaning that even with the flower, she was left with holes in her body that she knew would remain for several years as they had poorly scarred up, especially in her hands.

She hid it well if she did say so herself, but it was getting harder every day. So she insisted Eli go out and try making peace with the witch covens, that way she could cry in peace without people fussing over her, since he was the only one not always busy.

She remembered days when she felt invincible, how powerful she had been, all the things she could do. But that had been her messed up head talking. Now she thought back on things she had done and was sick with herself. How she hadn't cared when she killed without mercy, how she dragged Jared into this mess without a care—though they technically had offered to take him home back when he got out of the hospital after the Ice Waste, and it was his deal with her Dad that led him to stay, but she should have still offered again. Instead, she dragged him into her bullshit and now he was dead.

The worst part was that she didn't even feel like she could talk with anyone about this. Eli had fallen in love with the psychotic her, what if he one day realized she wasn't the girl he had married? What if he left her and took the kids with? The more rational part of her brain told her he wouldn't, but the fear was still there.

And the loss of her Dad didn't help things at all. If anyone would listen, it would be him. He would find a way to make her feel better about all of this. But he wasn't here right now, was he? Of all the deaths, his had hit her the hardest. She was a father's girl, having had Mom issues for a long time—and she felt really horrible with how wary she still was, even though she knew it hadn't actually been her—and she had always felt more comfortable around him, so it was easy to talk about her issues.

It had been two months now, almost Christmas, but Zoe couldn't bring herself to be excited. Nothing really excited her anymore. Everyone had better things to do than be around her, and she'd been nothing but an annoyance for so long. Why should anyone care?

Getting her head fixed was good, she told herself, but she also felt like there was no more light in the world. Like the fire that had kept her going for twenty-one years had just gone out.

Every night, she battled with the traumatic events she experienced at the hands of Kahu, who loved to pretend to be her Dad, which branded it into her brain. She constantly woke in the middle of the night with nightmares and vomited in the bathroom. Her physical and mental health kept deteriorating.

Eli had tried to talk to her, so had her sister or her kids, but why should they waste their time?

"Why do you cry, Zoe?" She heard Sam's voice from the doorway from where she was looking out the window. She hadn't seen him at all since arriving. He was off doing archmage things, and he didn't need her.

"Because I am lost," she whispered, looking out at the frozen pond, "And he left me, and now it's just me and my _worthless_ life. Maybe things would have been better if I was off in hell where I belong." She yelped as she felt hands grabbing her face before she could even react,

"Don't you _ever_ say that." Sam said slowly, firmly, "You think I haven't noticed you deteriorating, how you push away your mate and family? I have noticed, Zo, because I am your friend and I have known you since we were both little. If you need someone to talk to and Eli isn't available, I will drop everything. But you know he will too."

"What if he doesn't love me anymore?"

"Bullshit. You know he adores you. He's actually been really worried about you. Talk to him tonight. He and the kids miss you." Zoe's lip quivered, before bursting into tears and crying, both from the pain in her body and her emotional agony.

"It all hurts. I can't take it." She whimpered, and he held her gently,

"I know you can. You're the strongest person I know. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, but you'll do it."

"I went to the doctor." She muttered, "Doctor said that the damage will make it very hard to conceive, any pregnancy would be high-risk, and that child will be my last."

"O-Oh." He didn't know how to comfort her, because he knew she and Eli had been wanting to try for another baby once the crazy settle down. But Zoe didn't need someone to pity her, she needed empathy.

She smiled emptily, "Will you let me cry in bed for the rest of today like a pathetic worm."

Sam arched a brow, "Would you like me to bring you cakes and chocolate so your wallowing can be complete?"

"If you can find any."

"You destroyed Regina and Dark Mara, I think I can find you some sweets."

"It was a team effort." Zoe sighed, "Style Queen is my only achievement, but I was a damn psycho with that." He sighed, kissing the top of her head and helping her into a nightgown and into bed. He didn't know what to do.

So, he stayed with her, reading old stories with her while she cried in bed. Mara brought garlic bread in for them, and they enjoyed themselves.

It was sunset by the time Eli came in.

"Are you alright?" Sam left, ruffling Zoe's hair, mouthing 'talk to him' before leaving and clapping Eli on the shoulder.

"I'm fine." Zoe said, plastering on a fake smile, "How was the meeting with the Sardothien coven?"

"It went well. Turns out the heir has taken interest in Felix as an ally. Don't want to drag Felix into this if he doesn't want to, so I'll talk to him at dinner." He sat down, cupping her cheek, "You though, tell me the truth. You've been avoiding me for weeks, and I've been feeling your distress through our bond, but you're blocking me out from learning why. Did I do something wrong?"

"No." She said immediately, making sure he wasn't guilty for something he didn't do, "Nothing like that." She shivered, and the worry on his face skyrocketed. Then she started crying again, and explained what she had been feeling and fearing. He didn't say a word, listening to her talk.

When she was done, Zoe looked up, her face gleamed with tears. She went still as Eli leaned in, kissing away one tear. Then the other. As she had so many times kissed away his.

When his lips were wet and salty with them, he pulled back far enough to see her eyes, "You're mine," he breathed.

Her body shuddered with what might have been a sob, but her lips found his.

Gods, she didn't realize how much she missed him, needed him.

"Don't hide these things from me," he said, "I don't want you to ever feel pain, and I want to help you when you do. I don't care if you're a killer or not, as long as it's _you_. You are my Queen, and my salvation."

"But I—Douglas—"

"Killed him? Remember I did too. We're both broken and healing," He gripped her hard, forcing her to meet his eyes as he said, "I see you. I see every part of you. And I am not afraid. If you're a monster, I'm a monster."

"I am not afraid." She repeated, "My name is Zoe Invi Sommers… And I am not afraid."

"That's right." He kissed her again, softly, lovingly, "We're going to get through this together."

"Thank you for loving me."

"I should be saying that." He embraced her, "I still wonder sometimes what I did to deserve you. I couldn't care less what people think, you are perfection to me." He then noticed she had fallen asleep in his arms. He smiled, thinking back to when they had been superhero sweethearts.

He didn't want to leave her, but he knew he had to go talk to the school about Danielle doing something. He sighed, knowing his wife needed him.

He pulled out his phone, "Hey…Adrien, I know you're probably busy, but can you go to the principal meeting about Danielle for me?"

_"Sure, I'll help my favorite stepbrother-in-law."_ Adrien hung up, and Eli smiled. He had been working himself to the bone, so he deserved an hour or so with his wife.

Zoe made little noises that were his undoing. He curled up next to her and fell fast asleep within moments.

OoOoO

Adrien was sitting in the principal's office.

"Mr. Sommers?" The principal asked. Adrien shook his head,

"Agreste. I'm the uncle." Principal hesitated, before sighing.

"Good enough." She sat down, "So, I am Mrs. Mills. I trust you know why you're here."

"Danielle's bullshit powers?" Mrs. Mills nodded,

"If you could call it that. So I know she is the offspring of two powerful beings, so of course she is strong…but her power technically would count as a curse instead of an ability. This curse is lanced into her DNA. Was there something…unusual about her birth?" Adrien's mind flashed back to Danielle's birth.

"Uh…let's just say the time between her being conceived and born were the weirdest weeks of my life."

"Alright then. I take it there were some abnormalities."

"Oh you have no idea."

Mrs. Mills chuckled, "Well that would explain it. It's almost like Danielle is…how do I put this?…a walking talking curse. Her 'luck power' makes her a danger to herself and others, mostly others. And because of this, I'm afraid we cannot keep her in this school, for the safety of everyone else."

Adrien froze, "O-Okay." How was he going to tell Eli and Zoe about this? He knew his sister had enough shit to deal with right now. Mrs. Mills brightened,

"I actually suggest you send her off to train with the Hanyou, because that appears to be quite similar to what she is, shown by her slight fangs, unusually white pigmentation to her skin, and white-silver hair. Training with more that are closer to her kind might help her develop more control over her powers, since keeping her in a bubble forever is doubtfully an option."

"Could she ever be a danger to herself?"

"Yes, if there is nobody else to take the price, it will attack her in a different way. Such as she might dodge a bullet, but develop dementia."

"I see…so is that all?" Mrs. Mills stood up,

"No, but that's all the bad news. Roxas, it seems, is a phenomenal fighter, and we wish to move him to the advanced class. Aelin was a hero today and helped get students out of a building when her sister's luck went out of control. Felix is a top student already." At least that was good. Three good and one bad.

"Very well. I'll tell them once they're rested. The Tragedy hit us pretty hard."

"Understandable, Mr. Agreste. Do you have any questions?"

"…No. Not right now." He got up, "Thank you, Ma'am." Walking out of the office, he saw Danielle under a table, crying lightly. He approached her slowly, "Danielle?" She looked up,

"Am I in trouble?" Adrien hesitated, before smiling warmly and picking her up, carrying her back to the Gummi Ship. She was small for her age, so she wasn't too heavy.

"No, you're not in trouble. I am going to talk to your parents about your…abilities."

"What's a Hanyou?" She asked. Adrien sighed,

"The child of a yokai and a human."

"Yokai?"

"Yokai are a class of supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons, though they are closer to Fae than anything. Yokai range diversely from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them. Yokai usually have spiritual or supernatural abilities, with shapeshifting being the most common. Your Aunt Dausi is actually a Yokai."

"Oh…" Danielle frowned in the passenger seat, "Why am I a Hanyou? Mom and Dad aren't yokai or human." Danielle didn't know the unusual circumstances of her birth, and Adrien wasn't planning on being the one to tell her.

"Well, we don't know if you are a Hanyou. Even if you are, you are the child of a worldbender and a warlock. Anything could happen. You know, back when your mother was pregnant with Aelin and Roxas, I half expected those two to have horns." Danielle giggled, imagining that.

"So this isn't bad?"

"It's alarming, and out of control. But not _bad_." She smiled,

"So this isn't the weirdest shit you all have handled?"

"No. We've handled Regina, and Dark Mara, and Kahu and so much weird shit. A luck power is not even in the top five." He assured her, not wanting to tell her just how dangerous her luck was. Even if this was a normal family, a gift like that would be dangerous, but in a family like theirs…

"Thanks Uncle Adrien," she said, "for making me feel better." He smiled,

"No problem, kiddo."


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Back to Jared in the Afterlife. We last left off with Jared getting messed up by Morrigan.**

**Chapter 38: The Ouroboros and the Bargain **

The Resistance scrambled up the stairs to HQ, Jared being carried between them on a stretcher. When they arrived, they were surprised to see a bed already in the corner.

"Okay," Liana narrowed her eyes, "Who put that there?" Everyone was silent, until Cosmo groaned,

"Guys, Jared is having bad things happen, so does the bed matter right now?"

That was a fair point, so they all worked together to get Jared on the bed, where he started writhing and taking shaky breaths before he fell still, almost like he was too tired to fight whatever was happening.

Ben was the first to speak, "Now what?"

"Now," Cosmo crossed his arms, "women out. Men, bring a bucket of water, try clothes, washcloths, sandpaper, and my books. We need to find out what this is and who caused it. His behavior before and after falling ill gives me an idea."

"What's the best outcome?" Ashina asked, watching as Ben did his best to make an increasingly ashen Jared comfortable.

"Best outcome from what I can see is him waking up in a few days, confused, but otherwise fine. But that is not at all the most likely. Likeliest outcomes are obliteration, he doesn't wake up, or he loses his mind and becomes Morrigan's puppet." He lifted Jared's hand, the one with the tattoo, "Assuming she is the one who Made him."

"Well…" Adam was the first to speak after a moment of horrified silence, "We better get to work then." Amber came in with the books,

"We'll start reading while you guys give strip him down. Let us know if you find any marks or something."

"Can do." Evan replied, "Jared's our friend. Obviously we have to help him." Liana stood up,

"Alright, if we're making this an official operation, Amber, go find Morrigan—do not engage. Jared mentioned right before freaking out that he pissed off Morrigan. She likely knows what happened."

Amber got up, "Of course." She left, and Liana got on with organizing since they all knew things wouldn't work well without direct instructions since improv was not their specialty.

"Ashina, go through books A-M, I'll do N-Z. If men finish with Jared, help us look through books. Miles, you keep guard over Jared since you won't be able to help us read." Miles nodded a little, embarrassed but glad nobody judged him, "Right now, Evan, go get Chiso since he was to grab something from the guild, and ask him to build some machines like one would find in a hospital. Operation start!"

OoOoO

They worked all through the night. After looking Jared over, Miles was watching over him while everyone else was reading.

Liana was reading a book in the W category, and had been doing so for far longer than any other book.

"Aren't you gonna grab another book?" Ashina asked. Liana shook her head.

"Shut up. I'm reading about sub-species of wyrm."

"Wyrm?" Chiso turned from where he was hooking Jared up to machines. The young ginger had paled, and looked on the brink of fainting, "L-Like t-the M-Middengard Wyrm?" Cosmo, shockingly, was the one to comfort Chiso, sitting them both down on the couch and stroking the youth's hair,

"No. Differing wyrm."

"I-I killed them…" Chiso exhaled, still shaking, "I'm a monster…"

"Well," Evan sighed, "While Chiso deals with PTSD and you guys read and Miles guards, should I go make some food?" Ashina nodded,

"Please do, I'm starving!" Evan nodded and walked off to go make food.

Amber returned about a half hour later, "Anything?"

"Yeah…" Liana was looking over the pages, "Cosmo, once Chiso is out of his panic-attack, can you come look at this?" Chiso having a panic attack was not an uncommon thing, so it had become a part of routine. Cosmo was the only one who could relate to even a fraction of his story, so they left it to him.

"Anyway, Morrigan is gone. I saw her leave. She was talking to another woman. Couldn't make out much of what they were saying, but there was something about moving on and goals, and they do have plans for Jared."

"Right." Cosmo balled his hand into a fist, "Fucking council." Those last two words were so quiet that nobody made out what he said.

It was about fifteen minutes before Chiso fell asleep crying, and Evan came in with food.

"Did Chiso calm down?" He asked, then smiled at the young boy's sleeping form. Chiso had died the youngest of them at thirteen, so they all saw him as the baby of the group and sought to protect him from the horrible world. "Good. Well, since Jared blew up the warehouse, I had to sneak into the NPC kitchen, which led to a weird beef udon situation."

"Sweet. Thanks." Adam dug in. "Cos, look at what Liana is thinking about." Cosmo got up and looked at the page Liana was examining,

"Shit. The Tintregian Wyrm. Yup, that is a likely cause of this problem. Okay…Miles, I need lots of blood, Ashina," he tossed a different book to her, "I need everything on page 183. Evan, get my cauldron boiling. This will take a week or so."

"So…he'll be okay, right?" Ben asked worriedly. Cosmo nodded,

"If I play my cards right with this wyrm, he will be. But things need to go well, so chop chop. I'll keep watch over him with Chiso."

Liana nodded, "Good. Thanks Cos."

OoOoO

Ashina had gathered the necessary plants for the potion, but they frozen from the snow and frost outside, so it took an extra week to heat them up without damaging them. Cosmo had been drinking more blood to fuel himself—something he wouldn't have to do at his full power, but it was a necessity in this fleshy prison.

Finally, Cosmo had a small vial of elixir, which he poured down Jared's throat.

In the two weeks since the wyrm had entered his head, Jared had become increasingly pale and sickly. They were all pretty sure he wasn't breathing right now, and were grateful to be already dead, otherwise Jared would be gone. His skin was still hot though, since he had given himself a fever in his body's attempt to get the wyrm out.

Cosmo took another shot of blood, before placing both hands on Jared's forehead, _"Weccan." _His eyes lit up, and Jared coughed, opening his eyes, which were bloodshot and he was clearly in horrific pain. Almost immediately he was whimpering, and Ben was gripping Jared's hand.

"Jared, hey, look at me." Cosmo insisted, "This is going to hurt, so brace yourself. But don't pass out until I give you the clear, or you'll have part of this in your head forever. Blink once for yes and twice for no. Do you understand what I'm asking you to do?"

One blink.

"Good." Cosmo looked to the others, "Miles, Amber, hold his shoulders. Adam and Liana, hold his feet. We need to limit his motion as much as possible. Ben, keep holding his hand." Everyone got in position and Cosmo got ready for another spell.

_"__Êower âgend behôfian êow âlætan of hê!"_

Jared screamed, squirming and trying to get away, his eyes wide yet glazed.

_"__Êower âgend behôfian êow âlætan of hê!"_

As he worked, Jared's brown hair turned to white, and he returned to his twenty year old form instead of fifteen, as Morrigan's spells wore off the longer Cosmo poked at them.

_"__Êower âgend behôfian êow âlætan of hê!"_

Jared's back arched with a final bloodcurdling cry, before he relaxed, falling slack in Ben's waiting arms.

Cosmo held the Tintregian Wyrm in his hand. It looked at him, and he looked at it with a dangerous smile as he tapped into his original power and turned it to ash. It took a hell of a lot of power to do that—most of the council couldn't even do it—and that was a fraction of a fraction of the power he used to have. So with the body he had now, he was exhausted and Liana had to catch him as his legs buckled.

"I…Is it over?" Jared whispered, too weak to raise his voice any more than that. Cosmo nodded,

"Yeah. You can sleep now. And I'm gonna be doing that too." He passed out, and Jared followed suit mere seconds later.

Liana sighed in relief, "Ben, take Jared to your room. I'll take Cosmo." Ben obeyed, and Liana cradled her dear friend in her arms and took him to his room, resting him on the massive mess of pillows and the multiverse's largest mattress that he called his bed.

He was clearly exhausted, had drained himself too much, but he was smiling. She brushed back some hair that was in his face.

"You did good today, Cosmo. Take a few days off to recharge."

She thought about her relationship with him. They were definitely more than friends, as they flirted often and engaged in certain activities. But was it really love? Or was it just attraction? Liana didn't know, and she knew he didn't either. She didn't remember love, and he didn't know it.

She felt Cosmo holding her hand.

"Stay, Liana May." He was the only one allowed to address her with her middle name as well. Whatever they were, it was at least best friends. And that was good enough for her. He had been mistreated just like all of them had, and he was the one to convince her to fight—even if he hadn't done so intentionally.

She changed out of her uniform and into more comfortable clothes as she crawled into bed with him and let herself fall asleep with her arms wrapped around him.

OoOoO

Jared had one hell of a headache when he woke up. Like someone ripped something out of his head. Oh wait, someone did rip something out of his head. But to be fair, the pain with that _thing_ wriggling around in his brain was worse in a way he couldn't begin to describe. This headache, while painful, was not the migraines and wasn't that thing. He actually thought that thing was worse than the migraines.

He opened his eyes and was thankful that there was only a soft light on the far side of the room.

He saw Ben sitting bedside with him.

"Ben—" he immediately had a glass of water in front of him, and only then did he register his dry throat.

"Drink. Then speak." Jared obeyed without hesitation, sitting up as Ben got him comfortable.

He finished the drink and put the glass on his nightstand, "Thanks. What happened? What was that thing in my head?"

"A Tintregian Wyrm." Ben said, "Apparently Morrigan put it there to torture you."

"Well Tintregian literally translates to Torture in Old English, so that adds up."

"Why do you know that?"

"I know many languages since I got Made. Old English is one of them."

"That's awesome." Ben mused, "Oh, and Liana strictly ordered you be on bedrest the next few days. So either rest, or tell me about yourself. Who are you? Really."

"Jared Brock is still my name." He answered, "I am twenty-two as of a little over a month ago. My mate is Camille Blackwell, and my daughter is Joselyn Carpenter—"

"Joselyn?" Ben brightened, "Young, golden blonde hair, black eyes." Jared smiled, remembered that Joselyn had looked very different when she had first been found, when Kelly had to force her Darkling blood into dormant.

"She is still young, her hair has darkened to brown, and her eyes are silver like smoke under glass." For a moment, he saw Ben literally lighting up like a star. But then that light went out as he put a finger to Jared's lips,

"Not yet. Don't tell me yet."

"Ben—"

"Yeah, I just felt the feeling of peace. I want the others to feel that too. So don't tell me yet." Jared paused,

"That was…a lot easier than expected."

"Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this to please that damn council with members who have the nerve to hurt my friends. I'm doing this for said friends. They need that kind of peace in their life. I've wondered for a long time what happens, and I read that journal while you were asleep—don't let Liana read that."

"I feel like you've been thinking about this for a while."

"You've been unconscious for three days. That wyrm did a number on you. It's two days from Christmas."

"Okay then…?" Ben rolled his eyes and got up to where some soup was warming,

"Stupid Blight and your stupid lack of holidays." It was barely a breath, but Jared could hear it in Ben's head. A small part of him wanted to get defensive, but did it really matter? Blight was gone and even if it wasn't, Jared wasn't gonna ever be going back since he was dead.

Ben turned, "Tell you what, I won't mother-hen you if you get drunk with us and help us decorate."

On a normal day, he would refuse. But this was a ticket out of being mother-henned, and one he was willing to take. He'd probably just watch as it is. "Sure, why not?" He got up and put on a warmer sweater, but decided to stay in his sweatpants since they were simple black. He also noticed he was once again in the body he'd died in, white hair and all. But his leg wasn't fucked up here, so that was a plus. Now he towered over Cosmo even more.

They walked to HQ, and found the room empty for about five minutes, until Miles dumped a tree and a bunch of pine boughs in front of them. Jared frowned at it,

"What the hell is that?"

Miles was grinning as he waved a hand toward the pile of pine boughs now dumped on the ornate red rug in the center of the foyer. "Christmas decorations. Straight from outside." Snow clung to his shoulders and dark hair, and his tan cheeks were flushed with cold.

Ben looked at the pile in exasperation, "You can this a decoration?"

Miles smirked, "A heap of pine in the middle of the floor is Resistance tradition since only Ashina has any clue what the hell she's doing. It's like sex: you know what it's supposed to look like but have no idea where to start." Jared flushed a little, and Ben narrowed his eyes,

"Did you get into the magic wine again? Actually, wrong question, how much have you already drank?"

"One."

"One drink?"

"One shelf." He gave a lazy grin, laughing, "But I'm serious. It's for the mantels, the banister, and whatever else, smartass."

"As Liana's second, I do have some power here, hopefully enough to stop this train-wreck." Ben said, crossing his arms. Miles gave him the finger,

"Cosmo scares me more than you do, and I delivered him some nice blood less than an hour ago. Anyway, wanna help?" He shrugged off his heavy coat, revealing a black jacket and shirt beneath, and hung it on the coat rack by the fireplace. Ben was still tapping his foot while Jared watched this unfold, both parts annoyed and amused.

"Ah, so dumping a bunch of trees at our feet is how you say hello?" Jared asked, "Is that a Christmas thing or…"

"That's just Miles." Ben replied, "Namely when he's drunk. Hot cocoa or wine? Warning: no matter how much of a heavy weight you are or how you normally react to booze, this shit will have you loopy within a bottle." Jared examined the bottle,

"This is a bad idea."

"Oh hell yeah it is. But it's the week leading up to Christmas. And once Ashina gets in here, you'll have drank a shelf."

Sighing, knowing there was likely no escaping this—and he wasn't confident enough in his still recovering mind to use his powers with control—Jared drank some.

The trio had drank two bottles before Chiso arrived, took one look at their drunken attempts at decorating, and set about fixing it before anyone else could see the mess they'd made.

Lounging on the couch before the birch fire in the living room, Jared, Ben and Miles were grinning like devils as Chiso straightened the wreaths and garlands they'd chucked over things, swept up pine needles that had been scattered over the carpets, and in general shook his head in disapproval at everything.

"Chiso, relax for a moment," Ben drawled, waving a nonchalant hand, "Have some wine. Cookies."

"Take off your coat." Miles added, pointing the bottle towards Chiso, who hadn't bothered to take off his coat before fixing the mess.

Chiso straightened a sagging section of garland over the windowsill, "It's almost like you three _tried_ to make this as ugly as possible." Jared's blurry brain came to the realization that was the most words he had ever heard Chiso speak, but ended up just giggling in response instead of saying anything. Good thing Zoe didn't have any of this stuff in her arsenal of doom and destruction…or did she…?

Ben clutched his heart, "We take offense to that!"

Chiso sighed at the ceiling.

"Poor Chiso," Miles said, pouring himself and Jared another glass, "Wine will help."

"Need I remind you drunk idiots that I'm thirteen."

"You died at thirteen!" Ben retaliated, "But you're like thirty mentally, and don't deny it."

Chiso glared at the three of them, then the bottle, then Ben…and then finally stormed across the room, took the bottle from Jared's hand, and chugged the rest. Miles grinned with delight.

Mostly because of two things 1) Jared was currently using magic subconsciously while drunk, and that meant things were floating around and it was hilarious. And 2) because Liana drawled from the doorway, "Well at least now I know who's drinking all the good wine. Want another one, Chiso?"

Chiso nearly spewed the wine into the fire, but made himself swallow and turn, red-faced, to Liana. "I would like to explain—"

Liana laughed, a rich sound bouncing off the carved oak moldings of the room. "Over a decade, and you think I don't notice just how much wine is gone every time Christmas comes around, and that it's usually the fault of either Ben or Miles?"

Both men in question raised their glasses in salute, while Jared fell over.

Liana surveyed the room and chuckled more genuinely than she had in the time Jared had known her, "I can tell exactly which decorations you three did, which ones Jared's magic did, and which ones Chiso desperately tried to fix before Ashina got here." Chiso was indeed now rubbing his temples. Liana lifted a brow towards Jared, "I expected better from an artist."

"Fuck you." Jared said, "Now can someone help me? I'm stuck under this tree!"

"Why are you under the tree?" Miles asked.

"Because I'm a gift to this world." Was the instant drunken reply, "But I'm stuck, so help me!" Ben and Miles helped him out while Liana laughed in the corner, taking a small sip from her glass, and laughing maniacally like Zoe did when she was about to watch the world burn.

"It's cold as hell!" Ashina came in, much nicer dressed than everyone else, wearing a red and gold dress with long-white gloves and red hood, "And who the _hell_ let a _drunk_ trio _decorate_?! Now I have to fix everything."

Chiso choked on what Jared could only assume was a laugh as Ashina scowled, "And you couldn't have waited before breaking into the good wine?"

Jared grinned as Ben said, "Miles has already drank a shelf and we're just getting started."

Liana scratched her head as Ashina got to fixing everything, "It _is_ there for anyone to drink, you know. Help yourself to whatever you want."

"Dangerous words, Liana May." Cosmo warned, walking through the door, nearly swallowed up by the white bathrobe he was wearing.

"You look like an angry snowball." Adam said, also coming in. Jared clamped his lips together to keep the laughter in, since even his drunk mind knew laughing wasn't a wise move and Cosmo could probably smite them all with a thought.

(Little did he know that even a severely weakened Cosmo could, in fact, do that)

Cosmo narrowed his eyes at Adam, "Careful, boy. Wouldn't want to start a war you can't win. And I'm only wearing this because I'm tired and extra cold from getting that gods damned wyrm out of Jared's head. So Jared better thank—why is he here and not on bedrest?"

"I feel great, Cos." Jared said happily, putting a hand on Cosmo's shoulder, "Don't worry 'bout it."

"You feel great because you are intoxicated. You're lucky you're already dead, because that shit would kill a living person."

Evan came in, "Dinner, guys—who and why?!" He said that last part looking at the decorations.

"Wait," Jared looked at Liana, "Didn't I blow up the warehouse when—"

"When you got a wyrm in your head, burst into crazy green flames, and Liana had to play firefighter?" Adam asked, "Because yes. We're using the same warehouse we use to hide the trapdoor to the guild now."

"Ah." Ben got up with the help of Ashina, "Now leggo!"

They got to the warehouse through a secret tunnel between the school and the warehouse, The tunnel existed for the obvious reason of drunk people and a snowstorm being a bad combination.

Chiso set the potatoes in the center of the table once they arrived, and Cosmo had used his magic to assist in at least partially sobering up the extremely drunk trio. Still, Miles dug in, or tried to.

One moment, his hands was spearing toward the serving spoon. The next, it was stopped, Chiso's hands—which Jared hadn't realized were pretty ruined, just like Amber's, only his hands were broken and healed wrong while hers were burned. Speaking of, where was Amber?—were wrapped around Miles's wrist.

"Wait." He said simply, nothing but command in his tone.

Ben gaped wide enough that Jared was pretty sure the half-chewed green beans in his mouth were going to spill onto his plate. Cosmo just shrugged over the top of his wineglass—or blood-glass.

Miles gawked at him, "Wait for what? Gravy?" Chiso didn't let go,

"Wait until everyone is seated before eating. Amber hasn't arrived yet." Adam crossed his arms grumpily,

"Never knew you were a stickler for the rules, Chiso." Chiso didn't respond to that, just releasing Miles's hand and staring blankly, pointedly ignoring everyone now.

Amber came running in, "Sorry! Patrol went long! I saw Morrigan watching through the window of HQ, so I followed her. She said she's glad for Jared's health and wishes up a Happy Solstice."

"Glad for my health?" Jared asked, "Am I missing something, or is she not the one who put a torture wyrm in my head?"

"Yeah…" Liana mused, "That is strange." Then she straightened, "But we all agreed that Christmas week, we are not a Resistance, just friends trying to enjoy a holiday together." Liana stood up with her wineglass raised as Amber sat down, not bothering to discard her jacket since she wasn't wearing one, "We've…had some losses recently. Safiya and Kiyo. But we will remember them fondly, and we must celebrate Jared's recovery."

"Cheers to that!" Ashina raised her wineglass to. Jared smiled,

"Seriously though, were you guys worried about me?"

"Duh!" Evan said, "It's not everyday someone not only falls ill, but also bursts into flames, screams, falls into almost a vegetative state, and we all pulled all-nighters to ensure you pulled through. We're a tight-knit group, and you became one of us, so an attack on you was an attack on all of us. I wouldn't call us a family, since we will kill each other to take out rage, but we're close enough."

For a moment, Jared no longer saw these people, and instead saw the Carpenter/Sommers/Agreste family. He saw Camille and Joselyn, both grinning.

He didn't realize there were tears spilling down his cheeks until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Cosmo's hand.

"Damn, didn't mean to make you cry." Evan said, "You okay?"

"I'm fine. You didn't make me cry. I don't even know what's going on with my emotions anymore." Cosmo chuckled,

"It's the combined factors of being separated from your mate, losing Totem Armor, being still half-drunk, your mind still recovering from the wyrm, and being Made into a naturally more emotionally-aware being. When I realized what you are, I half expected you to behave like a woman on her cycle, so just get used to this and know it could be a whole lot worse." Liana nodded,

"This is why I told Ben to make sure you rest." Ben rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, well I knew he would jump out the window if I tried locking him in." Jared frowned,

"And I thought _I_ was the one with mind powers."

"You do. But I have this crazy superpower called Common Sense." Everyone laughed, and Jared knew he was going to make sure all of these kids found peace like Safiya had, like Ben almost had—and would once everyone else did.

He then noticed Cosmo's scrutinizing glance, and the serpentine grin.

OoOoO

Freya and Kelly were at the grocery store. Or rather the store in the Fae Kingdom. Freya was a little new to buying things, and Kelly was finally restored enough to help her out.

"So Micah gave me a list of stuff we need to get." Freya mused, looking to where Kelly was grabbing a shopping cart,

"Alright, what do we need?" Freya pulled out the list,

"Let's see…bagels, cookie dough, mistletoe, pepper spray, magic wine, and egg juice. Egg juice? They make a juice?"

"Beats me." He replied, "The only think I drink the the bitter elixir of the gods." Freya rolled her eyes and looked down at the list again,

"He also said we need turkey. Thirty pounds of sliced turkey."

"I think there might be something wrong with that kid."

"You're telling me." She replied, "What is a bagel anyway?" Kelly halted immediately,

"You don't know what a bagel is?" She shrugged,

"Is it a type of fruit?" Kelly sighed, grabbing a thing off the shelf and paying the woman at the stand. It was a donut!

"Here, this is a—"

"Oh sweet, a donut!" She grinned, looking to the thing Zoe had introduced her to, "I love donuts!"

"But that's not—" she took it from him, taking a few bites before realizing that was not a donut. She had to fight back the urge to spit it out,

"Wha…what the hell is that monstrosity?!"

"I was trying to tell you, that's a bagel."

"No, that's not a bagel." She looked to the stand, then back at him, "It's a lie! Where's the glaze, or the soft texture!"

"It's completely different food from a donut." He said with a laugh, grabbing most candy canes for no particular reason.

"But they look so similar!"

"So does decaf, but we both know it doesn't compare to the genuine article." To prove his point, he chugged his coffee which he had brought with him.

"Wow, you're _really_ addicted to coffee"

Kelly shrugged, "I'm done trying to deny that. Anyway, forget the eggnog, I'm gonna buy thirty canisters of Folgers." Then their cart was full of just coffee.

"Isn't that a bit much?" She asked, "There are only gonna be like ten people tops there."

"Three of these are for solstice, the rest are for me."

OoOoO

Jared was delivering Cosmo's supply of blood, expecting to see his small…friend?…reading and looking grumpy.

Instead, Cosmo was waiting for him, and his expression was like that of a predator stalking its prey. Though Jared had a suspicion that Cosmo simply was a predator, so that was just his normal face unless on special occasion.

"Hello Jared." He said, that same snake-like grin on his face.

"Hello Cosmo, I'm here with your delivery of blood. I'll be leaving now."

"As Liana's…partner…I could have told her that you and Ben have both betrayed the Resistance." Jared froze at those words, slowly turning to face Cosmo.

"Then why haven't you?" There was no point in asking how he knew, because he was pretty sure he didn't want to know the answer.

Cosmo poured a glass of wine, "Sit." So he did, not hesitating before doing so—which made him wonder if it was entirely his own doing that led to him obeying.

Once he was satisfied, Cosmo started talking, "I know full well what 'obliteration' really is. Namely because there are two outcomes: being erased entirely, or moving to the true afterlife. I fear for Liana, not the others. So I wish to help you." Jared sighed in relief. Maybe even Liana would understand if she knew what was on the other side.

"So you'll be helping Ben and I?" Cosmo nodded,

"Yes, but not directly. And I am going to offer myself as your teacher. You need help with your powers, and you can master them to give the council a run for their money. And since you're a champion, they can't do anything about it. So what do you say?"

"What's the catch, and can I get it without a kiss?" Cosmo's expression brightened,

"Clever man. You really were a good pick. But to answer your question, I am a prisoner here. In this body, and in this place. So my price is that you have ten years to set me free. I can already tell Morrigan plans to resurrect you for some reason or another, so this will come to my advantage."

Jared thought about this. If this was even possible, there was no doubt the council would stop him from actually doing it. He'd have to check with Morrigan…

Cosmo left the room, "Talk to her. She can sense you through the tattoo, just shout at it and see what makes her react."

To his surprise, it was Freya who appeared moments later. Jared assumed this was a good thing since he was about ready to slap Morrigan for the wyrm.

"So you're debating Cosmo's offer." Freya said sweetly.

"Yes. And answer me truthfully, don't tell me what the council wants me to hear. Also tell Morrigan I say 'fuck you' for that wyrm." She just shrugged and nodded a little, sighing,

"Yes, it is possible. No, the council cannot interfere if you make the deal."

"Why?" She looked up at him,

"It's sacred law as old as the council itself. Bargains with magic involved cannot be broken. Sure, we could go capture Cosmo again once he's free, but the council of ten millennia ago struggled with him in his teens, before he came into his full powers. Now he is infinitely more powerful and the council is weaker. To my knowledge, we would not succeed."

"Oh." He looked at the tattoo on his hand and forearm, "Is it too risky?"

"That's for you to decide, Jared." Then she was gone, and Cosmo came back in.

"Well?" Jared hesitated,

"What would you do with that freedom? If they can't stop you. Go on a rampage?" Cosmo shook his head,

"I just want to live. Not survive. Not exist. _Live_. I want freedom, my rights. Freedom isn't a privilege like I have been told so many times. I am not someone's plaything just because of how I was born." That…was actually sad. He placed himself in Cosmo's shoes, and hated it. The idea of being used and locked up sickened him. He had a feeling Eli would be able to empathize at least a little with Cosmo.

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

Cosmo sighed, "All I can give you is my word. I can add it to the bargain if you want, that I won't go on a rampage." He held out his hand, "Do we have a deal?"

Jared shook his hand, "We have a deal." Cosmo grinned, and it wasn't horrible at all, rather warm and elated.

"Thank you. We begin training at dawn."

OoOoO

_"__Jared."_

Jared woke up at the sound of his name, rubbing his eyes sleepily. The moonlight shone in through the window, and crisp winter air made the room chilly. Ben was fast asleep on his respective bed.

_"__Jared."_

Putting on a robe over his shirt and sweatpants—because it was really cold—he shut the window, assuming the noise was coming from the wind.

_"__Jared."_

Huh? That time, the voice sounded much more distinct, familiar, sounded like…

Joselyn was staring at him. Yelping, he fell backwards, but managed to catch himself before he made too much noise and woke Ben. He managed to ignore the fact he was supporting his entire body on one hand, focusing more on the fact his daughter was staring at him. In the afterlife.

Joselyn grinned, "Jared!" Her voice was quiet, and she hugged him. Jared meanwhile was shaking with rage and self-loathing. If she was here, how did she die? Was it… He couldn't get any words out.

She guided him to the hallway, "Let's walk, we can talk then. Don't want to wake your friend."

"Joselyn, that's _Ben_." He thought about it. If Ben saw her here, dead young, would he even be able to move on? This could get complicated real fast. And he hadn't even got to the main issue here that his _daughter_ was _dead_.

They were outside now, having jumped out the window and into a bush. Joselyn smiled, and the moonlight gave Jared a better look at her.

Like him any injury she had in life had scarred over. There was a scar down the left side of her face and down her body—or what he could see of it from the short sleeved grey shirt, black leather jacket and black jeans she was wearing. Or the eyepatch she had on was made of fabric so black it seemed to devour the light, so black it almost strained the eye; the edges of it however, were lined with silver thread—no…not silver—a sort of iridescent thread that shifted with sparks of color like woven starlight.

Another thing he noticed was the fact that even though it had only been three or four months, she was already growing into a woman's body. Yes, she had _started_ puberty around eleven. But, like from what he guessed about Zoe, it seemed to have hit like a truck sometime in these months. She still had some childlike features, but they were enhanced now.

"Joselyn, what the hell are you doing here?" He still had hope that maybe since she was supposed to be a necromancer, she was just visiting, meaning she was still alive. He wouldn't mind having her visit, as long as she was _alive_ and had a chance at a normal life—or as normal as a life with Zoe could be.

"Wow, have these months really made you forget how to greet someone?" She asked. That attitude…she'd had it during the first year they'd known each other, but it faded away once Iku really became a problem.

"Well, seeing as we're both currently in the afterlife, and I am close enough to your father, I have a right to ask what the hell happened!" Joselyn's expression darkened as Jared voiced his fear, "D-Did _I_ kill you?"

"No." She replied, "My spark ignited and I wound up on Ravnica, where there was a war going on. Planeswalkers couldn't leave, so I had to fight."

"So you died during the fight?" He asked, "What were you _thinking_!? You were still injured!"

"Didn't exactly have a choice since an eternal tried to kill me the moment I landed. But can we please drop the subject at least for tonight? I just got here, and I've missed you." It was then that her mask dropped and tears were falling. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed her too much.

"Sorry. I was just really shocked to see you. Didn't think I would be seeing you any time soon." No, he was not happy about this, not at all. Ben sure would be heartbroken. But he would accept her wishes and drop it for tonight. But he would go back to pushing it the second the sun came up.

"So who was your roommate?" She asked, "I didn't get a good look at him, but I didn't want to be a nuisance and wake him."

"That was Ben." He replied, "Your stepbrother. He's my roommate and Liana's second around here." Joselyn looked back in the direction of the school, and Jared realized just how far they had walked, and he wasn't wearing shoes, and was still in his pajamas.

"Ben…maybe I shouldn't be here."

"Relax. While he will be upset that you're here in the afterlife, he thinks he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. In his eyes, you are blameless. And in reality, you are blameless. Iku is gone now."

Out of curiosity, he tried looking in her mind, because the whole "why is she here" thing was really bothering him. He was surprised to find a shield around her mind stronger than anything he'd ever seen, other than on Kelly.

Was this really Joselyn? Sure, a few months could change someone—last time he had been in a coma was proof of that—but mastering her shields like that? Trying to dodge the topic of her death? Yes, that last one was normal Joselyn behavior, but something still felt off.

_Nobody in this world died by suicide._ Liana had said that, and he had no reason not to believe her. But while that did give him a tiny bit of relaxation, this was still strange.

Who was he kidding? It made sense Morrigan place Joselyn here with him, she'd lived a terrible life and she had two family members here. But wait…weren't planeswalkers supposed to go to that Cradh guy? Well, the council did switch things around to reunite families, and he had seen humans, Fae, magical creatures, and Cosmo here, so why not a planeswalker?

He had come to three conclusions. One: this was Joselyn, it was time to be distressed, and he should have known being happy during Christmas had been too good to be true. Two: this was a nightmare. Three: this wasn't Joselyn, rather some evil creature that wanted to eat his soul…or it could be Cosmo, but he still wasn't entirely sure Cosmo _wasn't_ an evil creature wanting to eat his soul so…

He was hoping this was just a nightmare, but just his luck it was one of the other two options.

They continued walking as Jared absently told her about what he had been doing, about having had amnesia, but he wasn't actually present in the conversation. His voice sounded engaged, but his mind was literally anywhere else. He loved Joselyn, and that was partially why he was so freaked out. Or maybe he was just tired since he had been woken up. He didn't know what to think anymore.

They walked for who knows how long, Jared hadn't noticed much. Joselyn wasn't talking as much, and Jared wondered if she was getting sleepy. She, like him, got crabby and quiet when tired.

Then it was getting cold, really cold, colder than it was even with the snow.

"Joselyn, where are we going, exactly? We should turn back." Joselyn turned,

"Oh, I thought we could just walk or explore. You told me we would go around Blight, and that never got to happen, so come on. We're dead, Jared, does it matter?"

"Fine. I'll humor you for five minutes. Then we head back. Deal? We can come back when it's warmer and the sun is up." He walked up to her since she was a little bit in front of him at this moment.

She looked at him, and he found himself both parts relieved and scared when he saw her eyes were empty and soulless, and she looked more like a wraith before shoving him into a room and bolting the door shut.

"Let me out!" He called, pounding on the door. So it was option three or some variation thereof. At least Joselyn probably wasn't dead.

He took a moment to look around the room he was in and gaped.

Items of all kinds were scattered about: a trident, a couple spell-books, an ornate looking mirror, a couple staffs, one white and gold wand, a gorgeous enchanted crown, and countless other things.

_"__Jared."_

Jared then saw something else in the corner of the room. A long wooden scepter with a glowing green gem on the top. It was glowing brightly, calling to him, his magic was almost singing to the thing.

_"__Jared."_

And then his feet were moving without his consent, towards it. Something was pulling him, his body was moving unsure where he was headed. All of his senses were leaving him defenseless.

But mere centimeters from touching the scepter, he felt a tug from another direction, this time coming from the mirror in the corner.

The mirror was a massive, round disc a little taller than Jared himself encased in bronze. The metal frame around it was fashioned after a serpent devouring its own tail.

But he didn't so much as glance at it before blackness. A wave of it, slamming down on him. Not oblivion but actual dark, as if he'd had a blanket thrown on him.

The ground felt like stone, but he couldn't see it. Couldn't see anything. Nothing behind, to the side, or beyond. There was only him and swirling black.

Jared crouched, biting down on a curse as he scanned the dark. This mirror, whatever it was, want normal.

Blood tickled his upper lip—a nosebleed. A pounding in his ears began to drown out his thoughts, any plan, as if his magic was repulsed by the very essence of whatever this was, while it had sang in the presence of the scepter. The darkness remained—impenetrable, unending.

Chills down his spine had him turning around since he felt something behind him, maybe whatever creature had led him here. But he didn't see anyone behind him, and it was then that his magic spoke to him. Literally spoke to him.

_"__The mirror called you here using her. Run. RUN! This place—"_

This place…

His eight-year-old self was screaming.

It was not rain that had dried on him.

There were bodies surrounding him.

"This is not real." Jared said aloud, backing away from the body of his father to which he was standing next to like a ghost while his eight year old self continued to sob off to the side, _"This is not real."_

But there were his parents. His mother not dead yet but she would be soon from her head injury. His father was already gone, skin already grey.

Slaughtered. His parents had been slaughtered. The wounds were so—so—

Jared fell to his knees.

"This is not real, this is not real." He gasped out, feeling all of those emotions like he was seeing this for the first time. He couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe, couldn't—

He was pushing himself to his feet, feeling for and then clawing at the door, no longer anything like a man and just a desperate animal. He needed to run, needed to bolt away from this place—

Another room, another body.

Gina. With a bullet in her chest. Dead on the ground.

Jared did his best to ignore this and still tried to get out, knowing this was an illusion, and he _had_ to get out of here.

Another room. Jared didn't even turn. He couldn't bring himself to. But something was screaming at him. Everything was screaming at him.

_Run._

_Look._

_Run!_

_Look!_

_RUN!_

_LOOK!_

Jared turned and wasn't sure if he was screaming, joining the chorus of shrieks that surrounded him, or was completely silent.

Tied to a rope hanging from the ceiling was Camille.

That was the final straw and he didn't care anymore, letting his magic rip free. He didn't see the flash of light that emerged from him, didn't feel the momentary pain of his body shifting. He was going to get out of here if he had to erase himself from existence to do it.

The door burst open, and Jared didn't realize he had coated himself in citrine flames as he bolted. A trail of that flame followed him as he ran faster than he ever had before. He had gone into fight or flight, and for some reason he had chosen flight. Why? No idea. But that mirror made him unable to fight, and running was all he could do.

He ran until sunlight and frosted grass came into his vision. The school, and Liana, who he sprinted towards, not caring about the fact he was probably shrieking. He ran until he reached her and fell to the grass, gripping it, shredding it. He was screaming or sobbing or not making any sound at all.

"Jared?!" Liana bent down beside him, taking a second to examine his shifted form, before remembering her friend was having a panic attack and had been missing all night and well into the morning. "Jared, deep breaths."

…

Jared was shaking and crying, and Liana was actually scared. Ben had come running into Cosmo's room saying that he saw some _thing_ leading Jared away. Naturally, the Resistance had searched all night for him. Cosmo was blaming himself, saying that the council was getting revenge for whatever bargain he and Jared had made.

It had been eight hours and Liana had begun to fear the worst, when there was Jared—High Fae, on fire, and sprinting for dear life. Now he was crying and having a panic attack on the ground.

She quickly used her power to collect some clean water, using some to put Jared out since was was still surrounded in psychic flame, and had him drink some. Once the source was put out, the rest of the fire that had followed him was also put out, leaving a trail of destruction in the forest where he had run from.

"What happened?" She asked calmly. Jared looked at her with wide glowing lilac eyes, which was not the usual sea-green, but knew enough about Daemati to know that color meant he was either traumatized or scared shitless.

Jared opened his mouth to talk, but only made choking sounds, still crying. Whatever he had seen had clearly scared him. It was only a few moments before she was flashing back to when she was a child, when her youngest sister Janis used to have panic attacks, and she decided to take him out of the freezing cold as he had frostbite on his feet, his lips were blue, and he likely had hypothermia. Sure, she could just let him die since death meant nothing in this place, but he was vulnerable and she wasn't cruel to let him die a slow painful death for simplicity's sake.

"I'm gonna stay with you, okay?" She helped him stand up, "I'll get you a hot drink, warmed up, and back in bed. You're freezing." He wasn't shivering, and Liana knew that was a bad thing.

It took her a moment to muster up the strength to get the 400 pound wall of muscle to his feet, but she managed, thanking her Fae strength for the assistance.

"Jared!" Ashina ran over, "You found him!"

"More like he found me." She gestured to the path where he had come from, "Tell the others I found him and am headed back to his room to get him warmed up. Tell them to bring tea, the electric blankets, lots of blankets, and anything else."

"How many times have we had to take care of Jared now?"

"Shut up." Liana snapped, "We take care of each other, and Morrigan just seems to have it out for him, which is not our fault. Now go, leader's orders!" Ashina ran off, and Liana managed to guide Jared to his room, where she rested him down on his bed. At this point, his skin was bone-white, as if all color had been leeched away.

Quickly, she filled a bowl with warm water. Then she looked to Jared, "Can you get into different clothes, or do I have to help you?" Normally she would be condescending while saying that, since it was normally a joke among the Resistance. But no matter what had happened, she still had the big sister instinct, and as the one who had been here the longest other than Cosmo, she knew she was older than him.

Jared didn't respond to her, having curled up into a ball on the bed.

Thankfully, Ben came in. He looked ready to run to his friend, but noticed Jared's state and instead said quietly, "I have clothes fresh out of the dryer. I'll help you." Jared didn't respond and Ben pulled the curtain separating the kitchen and the beds closed.

Liana shrugged and got back to heating up the water to a comfortable warm temperature to help warm up his frozen fingers and feet.

Evan was the next in, "I brought soup. Amber's behind me with a bunch of blankets." Sure enough, Amber came in with all the blankets, balancing them masterfully, and plopped them down, plugging in the electric blanket to get it warming before giving it to Jared.

Ben opened the curtain again once Jared was in dry pajamas, and Miles came in, helping Amber get their friend as comfortable as possible. Liana sat down at the foot of the bed and started the slow rewarming process.

Jared was still a shell while Ben tried to talk him out of this state.

"Is it the wyrm again?" Adam asked worriedly. Chiso shook his head,

"No…I've seen that look before…on my own damn face. Whatever he saw scared him deeply, likely something involving his family, or maybe even his magic." Evan frowned,

"What happened to you, Chiso? I think Liana and Cosmo are the only ones who know." Chiso sighed,

"And I'd like to keep it that way." Liana smiled sadly in Chiso's direction. She personally felt he had a worse backstory than her, and he thought the same about her, then they decided Cosmo had it the worst. But how much did they really know about Jared's backstory? Not much.

Speak of the devil, Cosmo came in. He looked uncaring to most, but Liana saw the guilt and pain in his eyes.

"Cos, it's not your fault." Cosmo sighed,

"I hope you're right. I'm still worried about him." Miles got up and stormed out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Liana asked. Miles turned,

"Sorry…just…memories…I need to go hit something. Let me know when he's up and ready for company."

"You know he'll be fine by tomorrow, right?" Adam called, chasing after him. Liana bit her lip, remembering that Miles had frozen to death after having a seizure that left him unable to move. Nobody had given him a fraction of that they were giving Jared right now, and this was a horrible reminder. Miles never went in the snow unless he had to, and he was always to break into the magic wine during the snowy season. Winter was a hard season for him, so she wasn't going to call him a prick for suddenly not caring. He cared more than anyone, it was just too painful right now.

It was about three hours before Jared regained awareness. The rest of the Resistance gave a collective sigh of relief. Jared blinked a few times, his eyes still lilac. He shivered finally, subconsciously snuggling into the blankets.

"Jared?" Ben brightened, smiling reassuringly, "Are you with us?" Jared blinked a few times like he was trying to process the question, before nodding,

"I'm with you."

"You're lucky. Incredibly lucky." Cosmo said, no emotion in his tone, "One doesn't normally approach the Ouroboros Mirror and have enough sanity left to tell the tale."

"The what?" Everyone asked. Jared's stare was blank, the name holding no significance. Cosmo sighed, pacing,

"The mirror itself is harmless to the right person. The defenses around it are the problem. The mirror will lure you with something you cherish, like a siren's song almost, leaving you unable to process much other than what's in front of you. The mirror keeps calling, and then the defenses kick in. Your deepest fears, sometimes your memories join in the mix. It makes your magic go into fight or flight, and will always choose flight unless you prepared for those memories." As Jared's already snow white skin got paler, Cosmo had his answer. "Your mate is fine, that didn't happen. Let's call it 'two truths and a lie' like that game kids play at summer camp."

"Didn't happen. Didn't happen." Jared repeated this, "So they're both fine. Joselyn and Cam."

"I don't know. Ask Freya." Liana frowned at the name,

"Freya?" Cosmo nodded,

"She's like Morrigan/Angel, except I know for a fact I can trust Freya. There is no better person to have Made you, Jared. I would trust her with my life."

"Would she help the Resistance?" Amber asked. Cosmo shook his head,

"When it comes to this, she is neutral and won't get involved unless she has to." He narrowed his eyes, "I'll give you a pass for today since that mirror is a bitch, but you have no excuse tomorrow." Jared sat up in bed, already healing, which was a relief. Color was already blooming on his face again and his eyes changed from lilac to their normal sea-green. Maybe they had gone a little overboard worrying about him, but he had scared them.

"I'll be there." Jared said as Cosmo left, looking down at the soup in front of him.

"Eat." Amber said, "You missed breakfast and did quite a lot of running to get here from wherever you were. Evan, you can head to wherever it is you go, I'll take it from here." Evan left, sending Jared a farewell nod.

"Great." Jared muttered, "Another day of being tended to hand and foot. This is getting old. Can the bad shit _stop_ trying to come after me?" Everyone laughed a little,

"Oh Jared," Ashina said, "We were thinking the same thing. We're only doing this until you aren't in danger and your feet aren't frozen and blistering. Once they heal, we'll be out of your hair. And you better give us the story of how your hair turned white."

"Don't really know the answer to that. I just woke up with it and died within a day or so of it happening. It was never given a reason I know of."

"Bummer." Ben mused, "I was hoping for an awesome story."

"Well too bad."

"Done." Liana mused, getting the rest of the ice off Jared's feet and fingertips, "You're good now. I'm still keeping Ben here since he's your roommate, and make sure something doesn't attack you."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Sure sure, and I'm a unicorn." Ashina muttered under her breath. Jared blinked,

"Are you? I've seen some weird shit, and that would not be the strangest thing."

"Nope." She said, "While unicorns can take human form, I am not one. Get well soon." The rest of the women left, and Liana sighed in relief once Jared couldn't see her.

…

"What exactly happened?" Jared asked, "From your perspective." Ben shrugged,

"I woke up when I heard the sound of something falling, and you were balancing your entire body on one hand. Weird, but not weird enough to worry me. But then you left, barefoot and still in your pajamas. I started following you. Once you started talking to someone and walked into the woods, I was scared and grabbed Cosmo, who said you were taken by some sort of wraith thing. By then we were all awake and looking for you. Then you came running through the woods, freezing and having a panic attack. You were really distant for about three hours, almost catatonic. And now we're here." Jared finished the soup, finding he was indeed quite hungry.

"Yeah, I'm never going near that thing again."

"Good thing you left a trail of destruction behind you, just to be sure."

"What?" Jared got up and looked out the window at the destruction he had caused, "Wow. Cosmo was not wrong when he said my magic chose flight. Didn't know it had a mind of its own until now."

"Yeah, well…" Ben got up, "Jared's magic, please don't kill me." As if in response, a slight wind picked up in the room. Jared narrowed his eyes,

"I had it in check for so long, and I am _not_ letting some mirror remove my control over this." Ben chuckled,

"Good thing you'll be training with Cosmo."

OoOoO

When Cosmo said they would be training, he expected something like the drawings with Kelly—calm, not much effort, and somewhat tedious. No, this was technically training, yet he had accomplished nothing.

Cosmo, it seemed, had some weird insistence on him "shifting" but didn't explain what that was or why it was important. So Jared hadn't shifted once to his knowledge—he didn't know he had shifted many times before, since he shifted back before noticing. Cosmo snarled and sneered and hissed, but Jared just couldn't do it, and a part of him downright refused to do it, fearing it would detract from his humanity since he hadn't been told what this form was. Every day when Cosmo went to go distract the others, Jared would halfheartedly try just out of curiosity, but nothing came of it. Cosmo threatened to drag him to the Ouroboros Mirror, as that was the only thing to have triggered any sort of response, but he backed off when Jared replied that he would obliterate himself—as in fade from existence to the point of not even Empty being able to get him—before going back there. So they swore at each other, sat in brooding silence, and occasionally had those unspoken vent sessions.

If he was in a particularly nasty mood, Cosmo made him chop wood—log after log, until he could hardly lift the ax and his hands were blistered. If he was going to be pissed at the whole damn world, Cosmo said, it was going to waste both of their time by not shifting, then he might as well be useful in some way.

Jared debated telling Cosmo that he had no idea what this shift was, but there was a familiarity with the term, as though his stone's magic knew what to do, and his mind was the only thing stopping him. But then that meant Cosmo would tell him, and he was also afraid to know what it was.

It was the eighth day of this before Jared decided to test something, stopping their hike up the now-familiar ridge. "I have a request." They didn't speak during training unless to curse at each other, so this caught Cosmo's attention, "I want to see _you_ shift."

A blink, those white-silver eyes flat, "I can't shift, not like I used to. You can thank the council for that."

"Only Cradh was around back then."

"And have any of the others vouched in my defense? No. Freya is the _only one _to have even tried, and for her I will be eternally grateful, but I hate the rest of them. So I can't shift into anything more than a shadow of what I used to be."

"Show me how you do it."

Cosmo stared him down, seeming to say, _"Just this once,"_ and then a soft flash of light, a ripple of color, and an angel was flying above him. Jared was immediately reminded of Felix, except Cosmo's wings appeared to be completely made of white-hot flame, much like how his clothes were instead a robe made of golden flame. If that was just a mere shadow of what he once was, Jared felt a jolt of fear as he wondered what exactly he had no choice but to set free.

Cosmo gave a battle cry and swooped, claws slashing for Jared's eyes. He lunged behind a tree just as there was another flash and a shudder of color, and then Cosmo was growling in his face, which was laughable with the nearly two foot height difference between them, "Your turn."

Jared wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing him tremble like a small part of him wanted to. Something about Cosmo just scared the hell out of him, maybe it was whatever was left of his humanity recognizing the obvious threat, or maybe it was his magic recognizing it, he didn't know anymore. It was incredible though, to see the shift.

"Where do your clothes go?" He asked, looking at Cosmo's hoodie and sweatpants that had vanished when he shifted.

"Between, somewhere. I don't particularly care." Such dead, joyless eyes. Jared had a feeling there were days he himself looked like that. Had being locked away by the council really left Cosmo so soulless? Where was that warmth from when he was around Liana—because there was no way that relationship was just lust, he had seen the way they looked at each other, like Adrien and Marinette did.

Still holding Cosmo's stare, Jared calmed his breathing. He imagined phantom hands reaching down and pulling out whatever other form Cosmo wanted out of him.

Cosmo then smirked, getting an idea.

And then Jared found himself face to face with the Blight version of Ladybug.

Faster than lightening, those hands shot out and Jared went for his daggers, simultaneously slamming his leg between Ladybug's legs, but she shoved her body against his, trapping him against a tree with enough supernatural strength he knew was Cosmo's fault that he couldn't move.

Cosmo was standing in the corner, watching this happen, and Jared knew he was going to rip out that being's throat for this.

That's when Ladybug bit him. Jared cried out as those canines pierced the spot between his neck and shoulder—the bite so strong that he was unable to move. She had him pinned against the tree and clamped down harder, canines digging in deeper, his blood spraying onto his shirt. Pinned, like some weakling, by something half his size.

He growled, more animal than he had ever been with Totem Armor, and shoved.

Ladybug staggered back a step, teeth ripping into his skin as he struck her chest. He didn't feel the pain, didn't care about the blood or the flash of light as he crushed the phantom Ladybug with his power, making her vanish as he turned to Cosmo, wanting to rip his throat out—rip it out with the elongated canines he bared at Cosmo as he finished shifting and roared, bursting into flames again.

Cosmo grinned, "There you are." Those dead eyes glowed with suicidal excitement—though Jared didn't know or care if Cosmo realized just how suicidal he was by pulling that shit.

There was shrieking in his ears, and Jared lunged. Lunged, and then stopped as he took in the world with stunning clarity, smelled it and tasted it and breathed it in. Holy fuck, this place smelled divine, smelled like—

He had shifted, into High Fae.

He panted, even though his lungs were telling him he was no longer winded and did not need as many breaths in this body. There was a tickling in his neck, his skin stitching itself together both from the fast healing of this place and the already fast healing of a Fae. Because of the magic…

_Breathe. Breathe._

But there it was, rising up, fire crackling in his veins, in his fingertips, the forest around them was so much kindling, and then—

Cosmo prowled closer. "Let it out. Don't fight it."

A wildfire exploded into a wall of citrine flame, rushing for Cosmo, engulfing the trees, the world, himself, until…

It vanished, sucked out into nothing, along with the air he was once breathing.

Jared dropped to his knees. As he clutched at his neck as if he could claw open an airway for himself, forgetting that he couldn't actually die here for longer than five minutes. Cosmo's boots appeared in the field of his vision. He'd pulled the air out—suffocated the psychic fire in the way one would put out a normal fire. Such power, such control. He did not have an instructor with strictly similar abilities, instead someone with power capable of smothering his power, someone who wouldn't mind doing it .

Air rushed down his throat in a whoosh. He gasped it down in greedy gulps, hardly registering the pain as he shifted back into his normal form, the world going quiet and dull again.

"Does your mate know what you are?" A cold question.

Jared lifted his head, "She knows everything." Not entirely true, but she knew as much as Jared himself had known prior to dying. "What the hell was that?"

"You shifted. Nothing more, nothing less." Jared looked to the small pond near them, taking in his appearance as he shifted back to normal,

"Get rid of it."

"Sorry. Can't. Not for ten years at least." Cosmo's eyes flickered—with what emotion, he couldn't tell, "I won't be having anything bite you again."

Jared growled, but the sound was muted. Fangless. "Even if it's the only way to get me to shift? Because I have no plans on _ever_ doing that again."

"One doesn't bite the man of another female." He sighed, "Practice that shift, and go help one of the others. We'll discuss more when that's done. I suggest Miles, since his main desire is to learn how to read, but he's too nervous to ask for help. Use your mind powers to your advantage."

Jared stood up, "I refuse to shift! Get that through your thick skull! No matter what anyone else says, I am human, born and raised that way. And being Fae takes away from that. Understand?" He was shouting, but still managed to sound calm when he really truly wasn't. He had nothing against the Fae, just didn't want to be one.

Cosmo narrowed his eyes, "You need to master the shift if you want to master your powers, your magic won't adapt just because you're throwing a tantrum about it. Either I'm old or you're just a child in a grown man's body—" Jared had him by the throat,

"Find the asshole who gave me these powers and tell them to make it work that way, goddamnit! Or else I'm dropping said powers entirely!"

Suddenly, he was sent flying backwards, releasing Cosmo, who was practically crackling with raw power which danced around his fingertips.

"You don't want your powers? Fine. I'll take them then." He had Jared pinned down using nothing but sheer willpower, "Shifting is the only way to stop me."

And then pain, nothing but pain. From the expression on Cosmo's face, he was feeling the same pain.

It was then that both noticed a burning on the wrist without the tattoo. The symbol of infinity was branded onto their flesh.

"Bargains with magic involved cannot be broken." Cosmo muttered darkly, "Well, I tried. Neither of us can inflict anything permanent on the other. Not until the ten years is up and you free me, then I can tear you apart for your power all I want." Jared glared,

"I feel it is in both of our best interest to avoid each other for a while." Cosmo nodded,

"Agreed. But seeing as you also can't obliterate yourself as long as the bargain is in effect, that means you can't opt out of this, so ha."

"Can't we just renounce the bargain?"

"Nope. It's permanent," Jared frowned when he saw Cosmo put a glove over the mark of the made on his arm, "and even if it wasn't, I'm not removing my chance to get freedom." he took the glove off.

"Why did you do that?"

"You don't want to know." Cosmo looked at the sky, "Spring is coming, or close enough. Finally. Now go help Miles. Remember—"

"Reading. Got it." And then Jared walked back to the school, taking a quick break and shrieking at the eye on his palm, "FREYA, GET DOWN HERE!"

Freya appeared, "Yes?"

"Why the hell didn't you tell me I'm a damn Fae half the time?!"

"You never asked, and only shifted twice while alive. Once when you first woke up from your coma, but it was hidden under your Goreclaw transformation, and once when Viirus was stabbed. Here in the afterlife you've shifted just now, when you fell victim to the mirror, and briefly when you had the wyrm in your head. It mainly happens if your magic feels like you need extra help."

"Yeah, well get rid of it!"

"Can't, as long as you are under the bargain, I cannot do anything that could get in the way of you completing it." Jared roared, furious now. This wasn't supposed to happen! This was supposed to be something that wouldn't come back to haunt him for ten years, not something that would always be around to annoy him!

"I…I'll look for a safe way." Freya said, "Or I could just lock it away."

"I don't care about safe, and I don't want any shortcuts. Get. Rid. Of. _It_!" Freya vanished, and Jared was now in an extra foul mood, glad he had left before Cosmo made him chop wood again.

He found Miles cleaning out a rather large chicken he must have killed maybe an hour prior. The blood was in different containers.

"Get up." Jared said, and Miles looked at him in confusion, "I'm teaching you how to read." Miles froze,

"How did you—"

"Know? Daemati, remember. And Cosmo's kind of a busybody." Miles cursed, dumping out the blood, and Jared felt more than a little smug.

"Well he gets no blood tonight. Either human food like the rest of us or nothing." Jared nodded, dragging Miles to the library in the school, not caring if this counted as school activities. He was currently trying to get Mies to move on, and maybe moving on was a loophole out of this bargain. The burn on his wrist had stopped hurting within seconds, but now he had that scar as a constant reminder of his mistake.

He tossed a book at Miles, a sci-fi novel called _Off to be the Wizard_. Whatever, that would work.

Miles was sitting down, eager to learn for what was likely the first time in his existence.

"Okay, I don't have the time or patience to teach you slowly, so do you mind if I just dump the knowledge of how into your head and then go grab us some food just in case you need a little help?" Miles nodded, and Jared felt his companion's mind completely open up to him, which would be dangerous if literally anyone else was poking in his head.

It took maybe five minutes to put that knowledge in his head. But he had to ask real quickly, since he didn't bother to look at memories, "I thought you were in a wealthy family for part of your life. Wouldn't you have been taught?"

"Mother and Father never bothered to teach me, thinking I would amount to nothing as it was." Oh. Of course.

"Alright, I'll be back." Miles was no longer listening, already deeply engrossed in his book. So Jared went off to grab some food. He was going to get this over and done with today.

When he came back, Miles was still reading, and had the same posture Camille got when she was reading—meaning pulling him out of the book was a terrible idea if he didn't want to get stabbed by the halberd which was on the floor in the corner.

So he sat in the library, bored, waiting until the sun was going down.

Once Miles finished, he slammed the book shut and hugged Jared.

"Thank you." And then he was gone.

Jared stood up, picking up the halberd that had been abandoned on the ground,

"Well, time to break the 'bad news' to Liana. One down, seven to go." He didn't know who he would go for next, probably have Ben deal with one or two of them. He knew he had to be careful to space it out to avoid suspicion, and he had to be careful with how their little system worked. Miles had been the hunter, which meant someone else would have to take up that job. Evan was the cook. Liana was going to have to be last with the fact she was the leader here. Adam, Amber, Ashina, Chiso and Ben were safe though.

"Is he gone?" Jared turned and saw Ben standing there. He nodded, and Ben took the halberd,

"Okay," his expression changed to one of fear and despair, "Is this convincing?"

"Perfect." Ben turned from where he was about to run off,

"If anyone asks, I was looking for you in here and found this. You were in the shower at our dorm. So go take a shower, because you really are sweaty."

"What were you doing in here?"

"Evan asked me to find Miles since he was late with the chicken for dinner. I was about to head outside when I saw him hug you and vanish. Be lucky I caught wind of what you were doing, because Liana was going to be the one to look. I'll handle Adam next, by the way. Ashina will be harder than you think, same with Chiso. I have no idea about Amber. Liana will be damn near impossible."

A part of Jared wanted to just blurt out to Ben that Joselyn was fine, even if that might not be true, but he knew having an ally in this outside of Cosmo was smart, so they could divide and conquer. He knew he could wait just a little, since making Ben move on would be easy.

"Good. Thanks Ben." Ben grinned,

"No problem."

OoOoO

About three weeks had passed since Jared helped Miles move on. He assumed Cosmo had taken up the role as the new hunter, so things had been busy.

He was surprised when he felt something land on his stomach, which woke him up from a thankfully dreamless sleep. He blinked a few times and saw it was a small pack, and Cosmo was standing above him. Ben was nowhere to be found.

"Ben's hunting with Amber," Cosmo answered before any question was verbally asked, "The bag has clothes and some food. So shift, and let's go. If we do this, you'll never be forced to shift again." When Jared only gave him a sleepy and annoyed expression, Cosmo raised his brows and gestured with a hand for him to shift, "It's fifty miles," he said by way of encouragement with a wicked grin on his face, "We're running. Non-stop. Each way."

Jared's knees trembled at the thought of that. No matter how well he was built, running was reserved for when one is late, or when something horrid is chasing you. Knowing Cosmo, he would find a way to turn this into a torture session and there really would be something horrid chasing him. "And _where_ are we going?"

"Out of here." Cosmo said, "Talking to an old friend, who will be able to help us get rid of your Fae form."

"Oh." If it meant getting rid of his Fae form, he supposed he could put up with it once.

"We're doing this because there is something I need to know, and it will benefit you as well. So shift, or it will take us so much longer. Unless you're scared." He gave Jared's braided hair a tug, getting him out of bed, and Jared saw that the sun wasn't even up.

"The only thing that frightens me is how much I want to throttle you. It's not even dawn yet!"

"Yeah, get out of here before questions are asked." They walked down to the clearing, "It's just southwest. Now shift."

Pain shot through every inch and pore as Jared begrudgingly shifted.

A fierce, challenging grin, and Cosmo moved so fast Jared could hardly follow, and then pulled on his braid again. When Jared whirled, he was already gone. The only reason he still had his hair in a braid was to keep it out of his face if they were going to be running.

Cosmo was standing in front of him now, a wild invitation in his eyes. Jared had been studying the way he moved, his tricks and tells, the way he assumed he'd react. So when he crossed his arms, feigning the rage he expected, he waited. Waited until Cosmo shot left to poke or hit him, and Jared whirled, slamming down Cosmo's arm with an elbow and whacking him upside the head with his other hand.

Cosmo stopped dead and blinked a few times. Jared smirked at him. He bared his teeth in a feral, petrifying grin, "Oh, you'd _better_ run now."

When he lunged, Jared shot into the trees.

He had a suspicion Cosmo was letting him get ahead for the first few minutes, because though he moved faster, he could barely adjust enough to his altered body to leap over rocks and fallen trees. Cosmo had said they were going southwest, so that was where he went, dodging between the trees.

Cosmo was a silver and black streak beside and behind him, and every time he got too close, Jared veered the other way, testing out the senses that told him where the trees were without seeing them—the smell of oak and moss, the open coolness of the mist passing between them like a path that he followed.

They hit a plateau, the ground easy beneath his boots. Faster—he wanted to see if he could go faster, if he could outrun the wind itself. Because this body wanted more.

He wanted more.

And then he was going swifter than he ever had in his existence, the trees a blur, his Fae body singing as he let its rhythms fall into place. His powerful lungs breathed the misty air and filled with the smell and taste of the world, only instinct and reflex guiding him, telling him he could go faster still, feet eating up the loamy earth step by step by step.

He could have flown, could have soared for the sudden surge of ecstasy in his body, the sheer freedom granted by the marvel of creation that was this body.

Cosmo shot at him from the right, but Jared dodged a tree with such ease he let out a whoop, then threw himself between two long-hanging branches, mere hurdles that he landed with feline skill. Yet Cosmo was at his side again, lunging with a snap of his teeth, but Jared whirled and leapt over a rocky letting the moves he'd honed as a warrior blend into the instincts of his Fae body.

Now, Cosmo raced beside him, but made no move to grab him. Was…Was he _playing_?

They glanced at each other, both breathing hard but evenly. It might have been the sun rising over the horizon that was seen through the canopy, but Jared could have sworn he saw Cosmo's eyes alight with a glimmer of feral contentment. He could have sworn Cosmo was smiling.

It was the fastest fifty miles of his life. Granted, the last five were slower, and by the time Cosmo brought them both to a halt, they were both gulping down air.

Jared wiped away the sweat from his brow, neck, and face. Though he was panting, he still could have run for miles more. If he had had this glorious Fae body back during the Kahu fight, then maybe—

As he shifted back, he remembered that he hated this form and wondered what the hell he had been thinking. All joy he had found in running like that vanished as he was reminded that he was a human being. He needed rid of that form fast.

He blinked as Cosmo tossed something at him. A shirt.

"Change." He turned and stripped off his own shirt. Cosmo's back was as tan and scarred as the rest of him. It was almost like he had been in chains or shackles anywhere they could get them around him. Frankly, it was sickening to think about, the council doing that to someone—and nobody had denied the idea Cosmo was guilty of no crime.

Jared quickly put on the new shirt, trying not to think about it, since it was a different council now. Freya wouldn't do that. From what he saw of the others, they wouldn't either. He wasn't too sure Morrigan wouldn't, after that wyrm. But he knew Cradh would do that, _had done that_, and that made a flame fire up in Jared's gut, but it relaxed when he remembered his bargain, then fired up again when he remembered the council had plans to recapture Cosmo after he was free. Great, now he was in a bad mood, still unsure if Cosmo was a friend or a reluctant acquaintance. At least they weren't enemies.

"Okay, we're here." Cosmo gestured to a mountain once Jared returned, and Jared saw that there was some sort of barrier, as while it was a pleasant winter day, without much snow, on the other side it was much like the Ice Waste. "Don't say anything you don't want others hearing. The inmates have nothing better to do than listen through the earth and rock for gossip. They'll sell any bit of information for food, sex, maybe a breath of air…" Cosmo helped him climb a particularly steep rock, easily hauling Jared up to where he was perched at the top. It was then that Jared noticed the blade at Cosmo's hip.

"I've never seen you use a weapon before." Jared mused, examining the dagger.

"Liana would laugh herself hoarse hearing that. And then make me go to the sparring ring with her."

"Can she beat you? That water affinity is pretty powerful."

"Hand-to-hand combat? Technically yes. She'd have to earn it for a change, but she is capable of winning." No arrogance, no pride. "Liana is the best warrior I have encountered on any world, any land. If she hadn't died in a freak accident, she would have achieved great things, maybe even led armies."

"Is that her regret? Not being able to achieve her full potential?"

"Yes and no. She wants to save the others, but since she doesn't believe there is anything good for them when they move on, she does her best to prevent that. No, she doesn't deprive them of happiness, but she tries to make sure Morrigan doesn't get them. If she knew what really happened, she would be a great ally. But the best thing for her is to return her to life, so she can truly save people. But it's not like that can happen."

"What about Chiso? Why is he so quiet and gets easily panicked? I've heard he had to do terrible things, and your story is closest to his." He wouldn't normally pry into these things, but he had to know if he was going to help these kids move on.

"Well…" Cosmo sighed, "Chiso's father was a powerful lord to a tyrant queen, and had two legitimate sons, both older than Chiso. Both cruel and spoiled. For the twelve years Chiso lived in his father's keep, he was kept in a cell with no window or light. They let him out an hour a week, and he only saw his mother an hour a month. He wasn't permitted to do anything. Then one day they got the bright idea to send him off to the queen as the tribute, even though he was too young by law. He became the Queen's plaything, and he like all the others was given the chance to win the freedom of the people if he finished five trials or solved a riddle. Chiso destroyed himself to finish those trials…but the queen refused to free the people. He had a lobotomy done, and when that removed the memory of what the riddle was, Chiso had just figured out the answer, but the queen snapped his neck. He never got to announce the answer and free his people."

Nausea swamped him. The horrors Chiso had suffered at such a young age, "Was his family punished for sending a tribute too young?" Cosmo shook his head,

"No." Jared glared at nothing in particular.

"That's sick."

"Why do you think he's here?" Cosmo said rhetorically, "Oh, and his last trial was to kill two innocents and his mother. That's the part that traumatized him the most."

_Holy. Shit._

Jared had to take a moment to appreciate just how strong Chiso was, if he was willing to do that to save his people.

And he was killed right before he could succeed.

"So he wants to save his people?"

"Yes. But he needs someone to say the riddle so he can answer it. Problem is he doesn't remember the riddle anymore, which can be blamed on the lobotomy. He just knows the answer."

"How do you relate to that?"

"I too was trapped in endless darkness." Cosmo sighed, "I'll explain more once we're out of this area."

Jared then stared at a sheer stone wall, "I can't climb that."

"You don't need to," Cosmo said, laying a hand flat on the stone. Like a mirage, it vanished in a ripple of light.

Pale, carved gates stood in its place, so high their tops were lost in the mist.

Gates of bone.

The bone gates swung open silently, revealing a cavern of black so inky Jared had never seen anything like it.

"Where are the guards?"

"They dwell within the rock of the mountains," Cosmo murmured, "They only come out at feeding time, or to deal with restless prisoners. They are nothing but shadows of thought and an ancient spell."

With the small lights floating around, Jared tried not to look at the grey walls for too long. Especially when they were so rough-hewn that the jagged bits could have been parts of a face.

The dry ground was clear of anything but pebbles. And there was silence. Utter silence as they rounded a bend, and the last of the light from the misty world above faded, leaving them in total blackness.

Knots formed in Jared's stomach. He couldn't be trapped here, the magic within him was screaming to get out of this place lest he be trapped forever. Even his human side hated this place. He couldn't be locked in this horrible, dead place.

"What does it take to get locked here?"

"Being powerful or a danger. No crime required, just the ability to do so."

"Could the inmates be freed?"

Cosmo was suspiciously silent, "…Once the sentence is give, they belong to the prison unless a Death Entity directly takes out a prisoner, but that's only happened twice… but otherwise, the prison will never let them out. The current council takes sentencing people here _very_ seriously."

They wound down through the gloom. There were no doors. No lights. No sounds. Not even a trickle of water.

But Jared could feel them. He could feel them sleeping, pacing, running hands and claws over the other side of the walls. He could hear their thoughts, how a lot of them had either fallen to despair or were very interested in the conversation they could hear.

They were ancient, some of them cruel in a way Jared had never known, not even with Kahu or Regina. They were infinite, and patient, and had learned the language of darkness, of stone.

Down and down they went, and time lost its grip. It could have been hours or days, and they paused only when one of them needed water—or blood in Cosmo's case. And still they went deeper.

"We must be near the bottom by now."

"Past it. The Oracle is caged beneath the roots of the mountain."

"Who? What?" He hadn't really been briefed on this, and therefore had no idea what to expect.

"Nobody knows. She appears as she wants to."

"Shapeshifter?"

"Yes and no. She will appear to you as one thing, and I will be standing right next to you seeing another." Cosmo stopped before a smooth slab of stone. The hall continued down into the ageless dark. The air here was tight and compact. Even Jared's puffs of breath on the chill air seemed short-lived.

Cosmo rested his hand on the bare stone. It rippled beneath his palm, forming a door. Like the gates far above, it was made of ivory bone. And in its surface was countless images: flora and fauna, sea and storm, sun and moon, infant and skeleton, creatures fair and foul…

It swung away. The cell was pitch-black, hardly distinguishable from the hall. But once they stepped in, a small light came on, illuminating a brunette girl sitting against the far wall, grey-green eyes taking in Cosmo, then sliding to where Jared remained in the doorway.

Cosmo reached into a bag Jared hadn't realized he'd been carrying. He chucked an object at the girl, who looked no more than seven.

"Come inside," was all the Oracle said, and there was no innocence or kindness in the girl's youthful voice.

Jared took one step in and no more.

"It has been an age," the girl said, taking in Jared's appearance, "since something truly new came into the world. What are you even? You do not know."

"Hello." Jared greeted simply.

The girl's smile was a mockery of innocence, "Are you frightened?"

"Yes. But not of you." _Never lie_—that had been Cosmo's first command when they walked down here, "I fear this place, the suffocating environment that makes my magic scream to get away."

The girl stood, but kept to the other side of the cell. "Jared," she murmured, cocking her head, drawing out the syllables as if she could taste them. At last, she straightened her head, "Where did you feel when you died?"

"A question for a question." Jared said, not quite sure why, but he did.

The Oracle inclined her head towards Cosmo, "You've always been a smart one. Perhaps the Lady of the Lake taught you that—"

"That's irrelevant right now." Cosmo snapped. The Oracle shrugged,

"Fine then, just tell me what I want to know, and I will answer your question."

Cosmo had gone rigid while monitoring the Oracle, as if worried about those memories. Jared didn't see any harm in this, so he told her.

"I heard the moment I died." Cosmo's head whipped towards him, "It was in my ears, but also throughout my entire body. I was gone before I felt anything more than the first lash of pain." The Oracle's eyes seemed to glow with excitement, "And then it was dark. A different sort of dark than this place…and for a brief moment, I found myself looking through the eyes of my mate. And I knew I was dead, and this tiny scrap of spirit was all that was left of me, clinging to our bond."

Cosmo's face had gone pale, his mouth in a tight line.

"That was when I found myself letting go, slipping away, but not fading exactly. I knew I had the option of completely fade from existence, and I assume end up in Empty's domain, but something told me not to. I think it was _her_," he didn't want to say Camille's name, just in case, "begging me to stay. But the realm of the living wasn't for me anymore."

"No light? No portal?"

"Only peace and darkness until I woke up in this place without my memories."

"Did you have a body?"

"No."

"Did—"

"That's enough." Cosmo said with an icy tone, "You said a question for a question, and I counted four, almost five." The Oracle leaned back against the wall with a huff,

"Well excuse me for being curious. This is the only time I've met someone who actually died. So ask it, boy."

"What is the council's plan for Jared?" Cosmo asked. The Oracle grinned, revealing pearl white teeth.

"It is not his destiny to have died now," she gave a dark chuckle, "not yet at least. So they want to return him to his family before someone snaps. Whether it is your precious Camille or that daughter of yours, I don't know which they fear more. That's all. The Lady of the Lake wants this boy to take the throne of the Fae and become King, but with his hatred of his Fae form, I doubt that would happen."

King. _King_?! Oh hell no—

"My turn to ask a question." Jared said, "What am I? I know I was Made, but into what?"

"I cannot pinpoint one specific thing." The Oracle replied, "In a sense, you are a little bit of everything. Namely Daemati, Fae, and Metahuman."

Cosmo sighed, "Is there a way to remove any trace of demon or Fae from someone without affecting their powers?" The Oracle then grinned maliciously,

"Oh I _like_ where this is going. And yes, there is. For the demon side, it's a scepter. For the Fae side, I can remove it by resurrecting him without it. Dear Jared over here would need to retrieve and/or activate the scepter, but technically there is a way for you, dear creature, to take on Cradh without your demon side giving him the severe upper hand."

"I don't plan to take him on." Cosmo snapped, "But thank you, for that information. Last question: is there a way to return someone to life without the council's approval."

"There are plenty of ways." The Oracle clapped her hands together excitedly, "Bargains are the main one, and as I said, I myself could do it. Last time was a little over thirty years ago with a youth called Kelly Carpenter. But my services come at a price. I have one question before I tell you what it is."

"Spit it out." Cosmo said wearily, crossing his arms. Jared could tell that his companion had not expected this to take as long, and wanted out. And he had a pretty good idea now what had Cosmo so on edge about this place.

"So Jared, have you figured out who I'm supposed to be, who you see in me?"

Jared frowned, staring more intently at the child's face. Then his eyes widened.

It was Camille's face. The coloring, the eyes…it was his mate's face. But this girl's lips—which were curled into a hideous smile—and hair color…those were Jared's, or his original color when it came to hair.

The hair on his arms rose. The Oracle inclined her head in confirmation, as if she knew precisely what he'd realized. Who he was seeing.

Camille's daughter. His daughter. _Their_ daughter. _Biological_ daughter.

It was an effort to keep his knees from buckling. Cosmo's face was pale enough as it was, no need to worry him more.

The girl's face crinkled in amusement. His daughter's face. Then she softened.

"I can revive you." She said, "But my price…there is a mirror outside of the borders of the rehabilitation you call home, and far outside this prison. The Ouroboros Mirror, which was old even when I was young. A window to the world. All could be seen, all could be told through its dark surface, which I cannot see while I am in this cell through anything else that a Made creature. Or have you not noticed the eye on both of your palms?" Both Jared and Cosmo looked at their palm, one in understanding and the other in alarm, "Both I and the being who Made you can see what you are doing at any time. That's how I write the Book of Prophecies, because I can currently see out of the eye of Jared of the Future. But the mirror, bring it to me. And I am at your service."

"What about the Lich?" Jared asked, having read about Totem Armor and knowing there was now a lich that existed instead of him in the land of the living. The Oracle only smirked at this,

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that."

Jared exchanged a glance with Cosmo, and they both shrugged at the Oracle.

"We'll see." Cosmo said, taking Jared's hand, "Come on Jared, we should be heading back now."

The climb up was painful, so many stairs, it was easier going down than up. Jared supposed that was the point.

When they got to the other side of the barrier, Cosmo was shaking. Jared clenched his fists, pulling out a dagger and attacking his palm with the eye on it. No way in hell he was letting some random oracle spy on him at any time!

Cosmo watched him blankly for a moment, sitting down on a log and letting Jared hack away at his hands, and saw the frustration as the flesh knitted itself back together and the tattoo remained intact. Jared growled, trying to chop the hand off altogether, only for it to grow back with the tattoo.

"Yeah, I've been trying that for ten millennia. I find a glove over it is the only way to get it to not spy on you. And it only does that sometimes." Jared looked up and noticed Cosmo's eyes looked even more dead. He supposed he should be happy other than the tattoo thing, because there was indeed a way to remove his Fae form.

"Are you okay?" Jared asked, finding he couldn't access Cosmo's mind at all.

"It's just hard to be in that place." He said, "I assumed you're figured out that I was a prisoner in there." Jared nodded, and Cosmo was still shaking, "I-I was in there for so long…I couldn't take it. It was painful enough that I was in _this_ body, but I don't even remember the real sun anymore."

"You know Freya?"

"Yes. She was my savior. It was during her early years that she learned about me. She set me free and started placing me in these rehabilitations to help me recover from the trauma. I still haven't, and need to keep a light on in my room so if I wake up at night I won't fear I'm back in there. I was afraid she would be punished for freeing me, like that power-hungry member many millennia ago that released Kahu. But I'm glad she got away unpunished."

"Why were you asking about your demon side?"

"Because when you fulfill your end of the bargain, Cradh is going to hunt me down. Most don't know this, but I do since this was my downfall…if I have any demon in me, Cradh can control me. That's how he captured me last time…I refuse to let that happen again."

They started walking back, and Jared was relieved to not have to shift. He was actually interested in this conversation, so it didn't matter if it took longer.

"Do you hate Cradh?"

"More than you could imagine. Your hatred towards Kahu is nothing, absolutely _nothing_, compared to my hatred of Cradh. I'm not stupid enough to try taking him on, even if I was back to my full power—and without my demon side, and keeping my powers, I know I would at least get him on the brink since many compare my power to the Worldsoul—but if someone else went and killed Cradh, I want a front row seat."

"So you kind of understand how I feel about the Fae thing."

"I do. That's why I even bothered to humor you, even though the worst you could do about it for the next ten years is be mad."

"Well…thanks." Cosmo shrugged,

"Speaking from experience, the sooner you accept the fact you aren't human, no matter how much you may try, the happier you will be in the long run."

"Not gonna happen." Jared summoned his wings, "This will probably work better than shifting anyway." Cosmo looked the wings over,

"You do know you can change the appearance of those, right? And no, you can't get rid of those. You're lucky the Fae thing can go."

"I actually don't mind the wings too much." Jared mused, "That's just part of being a stone wielder. But I _might_ change the appearance of them." Cosmo nodded,

"I'll run. I'm not up for flying today. We're too close to the prison for comfort for me." Jared shrugged,

"That's fine." Jared took off into the sky, but looked down at Cosmo, "Ben said he's working with Adam, but it might take a bit."

"Yeah, it will. If I had to guess he prepped today and is actually going to do it tomorrow."

With a nod, Jared took off, flying back to the school.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39: Winter Celebrations and an unimaginable choice**

It was December 5th. It was quiet in the mansion, as everybody was trying their damnedest not to wake Zoe. It was her birthday, and she'd had a rough few months especially with Kelly's death—this was actually the third birthday he had _ever_ missed, since she had been on another world and he couldn't reach her for the two he had missed before this, but he would normally drop everything to spend time with her—so the rest of her family wanted to celebrate.

It was her 22nd birthday. Eli tried to put that in perspective for himself. Today was the anniversary of the day they'd met. He'd known her for seven years. Seven _years_. The days were such a blur that he sometimes still felt they had only just started dating, but other days felt he had known her his entire life. He supposed the business of their lives was to blame for that.

Yes, he was watching her sleep, but he did that all the time since he usually woke up before she did and she was often times clinging to him. She looked so peaceful while she slept, not a trace of the pain she felt every waking hour.

He clenched his fists. He wished he'd been the one to finish Kahu off. Every day he had to watch her suffer was torture. Perhaps that was why she'd tried pushing him away. But she'd finally started opening up in the last week, and he wouldn't trade that for anything. Though he wouldn't deny his main motivations for allying with other witches was to find a way to help his mate, and to find Joselyn wherever the hell she was.

After a while of thinking, Zoe opened her blue eyes. Eli's heart sank, since Zoe had partially taken after her father with the eye color change to show emotions, as her eyes changed in shade with her emotions. Normally they were an intense blue, but he watched her open her bright eyes, only for them to dull to a blue-grey color. Maybe if he played his cards right he would get to see that bright color for longer than a few seconds.

In his hands, there was a present. Wrapped in black crepe paper and tied with a silver thread.

"Happy birthday, my Queen."

Zoe rose onto her elbows, wincing a little, surveying the present he had in his hands. It was rectangular and almost flat. To his dismay, she sighed,

"I was hoping you'd forget." Still, he managed to plaster on a smirk and forced enough relaxation and happiness into his subconscious that she wouldn't catch onto his sadness if she looked down the bond.

Yawning, Zoe dragged herself into a kneeling position, stretching her arms high above her head before pulling the gift to her. He could tell that stretching had been a show to convince him she was fine, but could see it had pained her.

Yes, he was glad her head was fixed. That was good for her, at least that's what he told himself he believed. At first things had seemed to improve, but now he wasn't sure if he was losing her. He still loved her, but her fiery spirit was gone, she was more aware of the pain she was in—which she had genuinely claimed to barely notice before, but maybe that was her underdeveloped brain talking.

He wanted to scream that enough was enough and set things back to normal. Maybe tweak a few tiny things so her sanity was more intact, but make it so she didn't notice her pain, didn't take loss as hard. Maybe he was being selfish; after all, she had lost her father and was in agony every day, he could give her time to sort it out. But he could just feel her slipping away and was unsure how to help, but desperate to do so.

_Actually, fuck it, _if she was still getting worse by the time Solstice came around, he was going to do it. A small part of him hoped she would ask for him to reverse it so he didn't have to wait twenty excruciating days.

He managed to pull himself out of his thoughts as Zoe unwrapped her gift, pulling out a notebook bound in black, supple leather, so soft it was almost like velvet. On the front, stamped in simple silver letters, were her initials.

She opened the notebook, revealing pages of beautiful thick paper. All blank,

"A sketchbook, just for you," he said, "I know you like drawing, and we haven't had much time to replace our stuff…"

"It's beautiful." She said. It was if he did say so himself. Simple, yet exquisitely made. She made a move to kiss him, a brush of their lips, before a second present appeared in her lap, a large box wrapped in amethyst paper. She chuckled, "More?"

Eli waved a lazy hand, "Did you think a sketchbook would suffice for a queen?" Zoe's face visibly heated, and she opened the second present. A sky blue scarf of the softest wool lay folded inside.

"So you can stop stealing Han's." He said, winking. His heart soared as Zoe grinned, wrapping the scarf around herself. He may have added a few charms to it, so it eased her pain whenever she wore it. It was a complicated spell that he was still working to master, but it worked on a scarf for now.

"Thank you," she said, stroking the fine material, "The color is perfect." A third present appeared, "This is getting excessive."

Eli only arched a brow, and she chuckled as she opened the third gift, "A new satchel," she exhaled, running her hands over the fine leather as she admired all the various pockets and straps perfect for storing stolen stuff. She may be sane, but Eli knew she was still a dirty thief, even if she had briefly become a cop. She had used to wear a satchel everywhere when they were younger, and would steal whatever pastry or small thing she could get her hands on.

"This is exactly what I would have asked for."

"Had you not been hoping your own mate would forget the day we fell in love." Zoe arched a brow, and he corrected himself, "Fine, the day you flirted with me for like twenty seconds and I became obsessed with you forever." Zoe snorted,

"Had I not been hoping for that." She kissed him again, and when he made to pull away, she slid a hand behind his head and kept him there. She kissed him deeply, lazily—as if she was content to do nothing but that all day. He might have considered it, but then remembered the kids downstairs.

Zoe then looked to the sketchbook and the pencils that were in the satchel for her, "I want to draw something." Without missing a beat, Eli smirked,

"I'd be an excellent nude model." His smile was positively feline. Something about having married her just reminded him that he was worthy of love, and finally all those compliments he had been given over the years finally felt real. And it helped that he had supremely awesome warlock powers.

Zoe's stomach growled, and she giggled, the scarf already working wonders for her. Maybe it was just the pain that had her feeling so terrible. He was already feeling better about his decision to reverse it at least partially. So, he'd ask her right now.

"I will have to reverse a little of the 'brain fixing' but I can make the pain fade a bit. I won't take it away completely, but I can't bear to see you miserable." She stood up, grabbing her cane and making her way to the window.

"We did this because I'm too dangerous."

"No, _you_ did it because of that. _I_ was perfectly fine until I saw the fire leave your eyes." He had his hands along her waist to help her stand upright, "I won't push if you don't want to—"

"Do it. Keep my sanity, I like that part, just…" she wept, "Please make the pain stop at least a little." That was all he had to hear, and the 'please' was the icing on the cake, since getting manners out of her was still a rare occurrence. That meant she really truly wanted him to fix this.

So, he did.

It felt like his own birthday as he watched the color return to her eyes, her demeanor changing back to the woman he had married, not the shell of a person she had become. He'd love her regardless, if that had been what she wanted, but she looked so much more like…herself, when she looked at him now.

She smirked at him, just like her normal wonderful self. They'd test it out. Hopefully they would find a happy medium so her personality remained intact other than the psychopath thing and her issue with kidnapping random people to join their family.

She stretched properly this time, "Much better. Nothing like a messed up brain not processing things properly to make you feel better." Eli tried to ignore the fact that she had still been in pain during childbirth and when Kahu tortured her. How bad would it have been normally? He decided not to think about that. She looked at him, "Oh, and tonight will have you modeling in all your glory."

He purred, very happy to hear that, which meant she was feeling better. He knew there were still holes inside her body, but they didn't hurt her anymore and would heal eventually. As long as she wasn't cartwheeling into battle, she should be fine.

Zoe looked down at her cane, "And I want a cane with a gun in it. Maybe birch or something? This metal thing is not very stylish or comfortable." She looked at herself, "And why the hell would I brush my hair, but not ever shower? No, priorities need to be swapped. I am disgusting right now and need to be clean." She made her way to the shower, and Eli found himself grinning like a lovesick teenager,

"Want me to join you?"

"Fuck yeah!" He didn't hesitate before following her.

OoOoO

Since the kids had school, Harrison and Amelia were still off places, Gizmo was looking for Joselyn once again, Sam and Mara were doing archmage things, and Camille was off talking to Otar, Zoe felt kind of like she had back when she was fifteen. Eden, Chloe, Adrien, Marinette, Hana and Eli all sitting around the fire most of the day, talking, laughing.

Dausi was never around these days, the loss of both her husband and daughter had hit her hard, so they gave her space. She spent most of her time in the mermaid kingdom.

Elaine wasn't ever around either. While Gavin was spending his time researching how to build a world—since Zoe herself hadn't had the strength to do it before—Elaine was a ticking time bomb that could explode at any time, and frankly they were more scared to be around _her_ than being around Psychic Jared when his eyes were glowing bright enough red to blind someone.

Quantic Jared was spending his time with Kagami both experimenting on the healing flower, or creating a serum to replicate Gizmo's analytical ability. He didn't know it was Zoe's birthday, and for all she cared that was a good thing.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." Chloe said, taking the pumpkin pastries—she still remembered the recipe from when she got it over seven years ago—out of the over, "We were worried."

"Yeah." Adrien nodded, looking to Marinette lovingly.

Zoe looked down at herself, to where Hana was playing with her shadows. Then they heard barking, and Ramsey ran in and dropped a dead pigeon at Zoe's feet. Zoe looked at it, before shrugging, snapping her fingers and both cooking and cleaning it. Ramsey wagged her tail as Zoe ate it.

"Looks like Ramsey likes you." Hana mused.

Then the kids came running in, and the twins were dragging something behind them.

"Hey kids!" Zoe called, waving. Danielle ran in—because thankfully the Hanyou school wasn't far from the other magical school, so they got out at the same time, and it had been proven Danielle was a Hanyou—frantically pulling her mother up,

"No! Don't you be in here!" She said, "We aren't ready to surprise you yet! Felix made the—"

"Dani." Hugo warned, "Come on!"

Zoe frowned as she was forced back into her room by her children, "Well gee, thanks." She looked to Eli, sitting on the bed with a wicked grin,

"Looks like you get to model early." Eli laughed,

"Anything for you."

OoOoO

Everyone was in their finery for once. Why? Zoe had no idea, but she would humor her children, who were elated that she was feeling better.

Zoe had opted to wear the same dress she had worn on her fifteenth birthday, the night she had met Eli—who she hadn't realized would become her greatest birthday gift—the velvet dark sea-green gown with a lighter interior layer, which hung loose at the wrists but otherwise hugged her in all the right places. Marinette had tweaked it a little to fit her adult body, and she had a silver diadem on with lapis in it, identical to her wedding ring.

Beyond the windows, darkness had fallen, the moon shining high in the sky. Eden was studying it, looking stunning in her amethyst colored gown. Amhar was at her feet, but she did her best to shake away the young boy.

"Okay, what is this surprise y'all are waiting to show me?" Zoe asked, then froze when she saw what her children were carrying in with Adrien's help.

Her brother grinned over the giant tiered cake in his arms—over the twenty-two sparkling candles lighting up his face and enhancing his Fae features.

Sam clapped a hand on her shoulder, "You really think we'd forget?"

Zoe groaned, "You're all insufferable." Eden turned from the window with a grin on her face,

"Happy birthday, Showy."

Her friends—her family—echoed the words as Adrien set the cake on the low-lying table before the fire. She glanced towards her sister, "Did you…?"

"Nope. It was Hana and Felix. Aelin, Roxas and Danielle did the actual baking. Kaylee and Chipmunk watched over them to make sure they didn't blow the kitchen up."

"It kind of turned into a chemistry lesson." Felix admitted, "So that was fun."

It was then that she realized the three different tiers had been designed.

At the base: stars and purple flame. In the middle: ice. On the top: divided into four, one with fire, one with wings, one with faded pastel colors, and one with four-leafed clovers. Around the cake was themes such as the kwamis, or the elements of her friends.

"One layer for each of us?" She asked. Roxas nodded,

"You're at the base, because you're the foundation. You always have been since Dad didn't grow a pair until after we were born. Felix has stories." Felix nodded,

"It's true, I do." Adrien groaned loudly,

"Just blow out the candles so we can get to presents." Zoe laughed at her brother's antics, meeting Eli's stare over the sparkling candles. HIs smile was enough to make her want to cry. He'd been by her side no matter what.

_"What are you going to wish for?"_ He asked down the bond. A simple, honest question.

She looked at him, at that face beautiful beyond reason, and his easy smile, so many of her darker thoughts vanished, their family mostly gathered around them, eternity a long journey…she knew.

She wasn't sure if she hallucinated seeing her Dad in the corner of the room, smirking as though he too know what she wished.

She didn't tell Eli what she wished as she blew out her candles. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder that wasn't Eli.

Her Dad really was standing there, "Happy Birthday, dude. Really think being dead would make me miss it?" She could tell nobody else could see him, and she let Eli see through her eyes for a moment as she had tears in her eyes, as Kelly kissed her forehead lovingly, "I love you, so much." Then he was gone. She wanted to scream for him not to go, but for now she was grateful to have seen him at least once.

"Love you too, Dad." She whispered, before cutting into her cake.

OoOoO

A few weeks had passed, and now it was the Winter Solstice—which they considered Christmas since they were all too lazy to do the Santa Claus thing, and magic creatures celebrated the longest night of the year.

But Eli was in no celebrating mood. Sure, he and Zoe had been talking about her wish and decided to try going for it, but right now…

"Now," the Sardothien coven's matron, a witch named Valeria, was a fair woman—nowhere near as attractive as her daughter or any of the other witches—with long, ebony hair sprinkled with silver and eyes flecked with gold. and seemed to be aging gracefully for a woman in her forties, even if she was actually well into her four hundreds, "I will agree to your peace terms, in exchange for your eldest son."

"Why would you want Felix?" Eli asked coldly. Valeria shrugged,

"A Nephilim boy, son of a worldbender and the most powerful warlock to exist…with blood like his in our line, we could be the most powerful coven out there!"

"So you're telling me I should sell my son into marriage so your family can get more power?"

Valeria smirked maliciously, "Peace or war, it's up to you."

Eli glared darkly, but was prevented from responding by a young woman bouncing down the stairs. It wasn't Amaya, rather another girl. This girl was was youthful and beautiful in appearance, having similarities to her sister, having chestnut hair instead of black, and ice blue eyes instead of indigo.

"Mother, why is Mr. Sommers here?" The girl asked. Valeria shrugged,

"He's here to discuss a potential alliance by marriage, between you sister and his son. Nothing for you to worry about, Kyra." She said, "I'll give you until the end of Yuletide to answer my offer, or all peace is off. For now, enjoy the holiday."

With that, Eli teleported home, pale as a sheet. Zoe was waiting for him, sitting in a chair and drawing happily. When she saw him, she brightened, and her smile already made him feel a little better.

"So the peace treaty was signed?"

"N…No, my Queen…s-something went wrong. Very…_very_ wrong."

"What could have possibly happened? I didn't go with you, so things can't have gone _that_ bad."

"Well the matron wants us to sell Felix into marriage with her daughter." Zoe dropped her sketchbook and clenched her fists.

"That bitch…she's lucky I have a walking problem still, or I'd rip her throat out. Psychopath or no, _nobody_ tries to buy my son's virtue for favors."

"I know." Eli sat down with her, "We have until the end of Yuletide to accept the offer, or there will be war. I know I could simply smite the threat with my zettaflare, but all that peace would go down the drain." Zoe looked out the window with tears of both sorrow and rage in her eyes,

"I wish Dad or Jared was here. They were the ones with mind powers, and they could fix this." She sighed, "Maybe we should have done with the kids what Dad did to me, and have bound their powers at a young age. It's not too late—"

"Yes it is. They're already attending magic school." Eli said, "And that doesn't stop what's already right in front of us. I don't want to give Felix up, so we need to either find a way around this or brace ourselves for a war we aren't ready for."

"How about you both go talk to Felix about this?" They both turned and saw Elaine leaning against the wall, a frown permanent on her face. It was funny when Eli thought about it, how positive Adrien was, and his name meant "the dark one" and Elaine's name leave light, and she was so negative. Their appearances said more about their personality than their name.

"How long have you been standing there?" Zoe asked. Elaine brushed back a strand of ebony hair, glaring as per usual,

"I'm an empath, remember? Obviously I sensed the anger and despair, and was curious. But seriously, talk to Felix about this issue. It's his virtue, his life, don't make a mistake and hide it from him. Don't force him to do it, don't make it clear you don't want him to do it. Give him the choice, or at least give him a head's up." Eli and Zoe looked to each other, then out the window where the kids were having a snowball fight.

"Okay…" Eli said, "I'll go get him." He walked downstairs, and frowned when he didn't see his eldest with the others, "Kids, where's Felix?" Hugo turned,

"He's off sparring with Kaylee. She took that serum Chipmunk made, and is testing out how it affects combat. Felix wanted to train as well, so he's with her." Eli sighed, smiling at his nephew,

"Thanks Hugo." He found Felix and Kaylee near the pond, and Kaylee was displaying outstanding combat abilities. Felix wasn't using his powers, and his wings were bound as per usual these days since they were unsure if he would ever fly again.

Felix held his own, but it wasn't long before Kaylee had him pinned to the ground, and she hadn't been using a weapon, while Felix had had a dagger which was now a few feet away from him.

"You win." Felix said with a laugh as Kaylee helped him up, "Good job."

"Felix…" Eli waved to them, and they both came over, "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure. I'm listening." Felix said cheerfully, "Is this about how Kaylee just kicked my ass?"

"No." He sighed, "This is a conversation you and I need to have with you mother…in private…"

Felix hesitated, "Oh…"

Kaylee's eyes had gone to something like gears, proving that serum she had taken really worked. Quantic Jared had made the serum to replicate Gizmo's analytical ability, which gave Kaylee—only none-magic user here other than Chloe and technically Gizmo—an advantage.

Eli guided Felix to his bedroom, when Felix sat on his bed, which was the top bunk since he shared with Roxas who couldn't climb a ladder.

Zoe was waiting for him, "Felix…"

"What is it?" Felix asked worriedly, "Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?"

"No." Both parents immediately insisted, "Nothing like that. It's more…something involving you."

"Oh?" Felix frowned, changing his shirt into something warmer since he was wet from being pinned to the ground in the snow.

"The Sardothien witch coven wants you to marry Amaya." Zoe muttered, almost like she didn't want Felix to hear. But he did, and he paused,

"Um…why? Amaya seems nice enough, but I don't know her as anything other than my classmate."

"It's because you're a Nephilim, and to most witch covens, men are only seen as merely breeders and the more powerful they are, the better." Eli explained. Felix was abnormally quiet, shaking a little.

"Will there be war if I refuse?" The silence was enough of an answer.

"Not that it matters." Zoe replied, "While I wish in this moment that I didn't have a conscience, I will still kill some bitches to keep your free will. That's the power of the mother anger."

"We aren't ready for a war." Felix said, standing up and pacing, "Had this been in a few months than maybe, but we're trying to maintain the peace as it is, and wiping out a witch coven is _not_ the way to do that. But if I do this, people might think Aelin, Roxas and Danielle are fair game as well…"

"You have until the end of Yuletide to make the decision," Eli assured, "And we're going to do everything we can to stop this—"

"I'll do it." Both parents froze, looking at their son, who was looking at the floor, "You both gave me a life most kids only dream of, and I have wanted to thank you for so long. Keeping the family safe from war is the way I can repay my debt." Zoe cupped his cheek,

"Fe, there is no debt to pay. We both love you, and you don't have to do this. We were mainly telling you as a head's up about it."

"Mom…Dad…" Felix looked up from the floor, "I'm not saying I'm not scared, but I guess Dad rubbed off on me with his self-sacrificing bullshit. If there is a way to get out of this without a war, I'll take that, but I will do it if it's the only way. We are not emotionally or physically ready for a war." This wasn't what Eli and Zoe expected. They expected panic and refusal. They weren't sure whether to be proud or horrified.

"I…" Eli sighed, "Maybe until it's definite keep this hidden from your siblings and cousins." Felix nodded,

"Of course."

OoOoO

That night, everyone was enjoying the holiday and eating dinner. Felix was abnormally quiet, and Zoe felt immensely guilty for what was clearly going through his head. For him, she would go through a war, but she knew he would feel any life taken in his name like a weight on his shoulders.

He was picking at the food, giving the impression of eating when he had gotten down maybe two or three bites. She sighed when she felt Eli down the bond,

_"__He can't keep anything down. I know that expression since I used to see it in the mirror."_

_"__I'm worried about him, Eli. What are we going to do?"_

_"__We'll find a way to fix this, my love. We always do."_

Catra got up, "I'm done!" She tried to run off, when Adrien grabbed the hood of the jacket,

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, and Catra shrugged,

"I'm…gonna go do some research."

"It's Solstice." Marinette said in a motherly fashion, though she was still unaware this was her child she was talking to, "You don't need to do homework."

"It's…not homework." Hugo rolled his eyes,

"She's gonna go observe Otar again." Everyone paused from where they were eating.

"No." Adrien said firmly, "Otar is some sort of undead death lord, and until we are sure what exactly he is, I refuse to let my daughter near him." Catra pouted, before smirking and shifting into her kwami form, which was a slightly more feminine and much smaller version of Plagg's cat form before…

"Catra Amara Agreste! Shift and get your ass back here!" Catra flew away and Adrien tried to chase after her, only for her to phase through his hands and through a wall. "Oh she is _so_ grounded."

"Kitty, it's Solstice." Zoe said, "I thought we agreed not to punish anyone." Adrien grumbled,

"It's her gift, otherwise she would be grounded, and now I have to go find her."

"Otar doesn't seem like much of a threat," Alexa contributed, "I've seen a lich before, so I have a feeling he won't be any sort of danger unless she tries to fuck with reality."

"Can we open presents now?" Hugo asked. Zoe looked around to where Amhar was secretly giving Ramsey some of his steak, though Hana saw this and simply gave Ramsey her own steak so Amhar would eat.

"What presents do you speak of?" She asked, surveying the room empty of them. Alexa then snapped her fingers and they all appeared. Boxes and bags, all brightly wrapped and adorned, filled the room, piles and mountains and towers of them. Danielle let out a squeal of delight.

Zoe twisted towards the foyer. She'd left hers in the broom closet on the third level—wait no, there they were.

Eli winked at her, "I took it upon myself to add your gifts to the communal trove."

"Everyone gave you their gifts?"

"No," Kaylee said, "We gave them to Alexa, since she's apparently the only one trusted not to snoop."

"To be fair," Hana mused, "Last year we caught Dausi literally shaking a box to see what was inside." Dausi shrugged as the kids laughed,

"What they didn't see was Hugo down there ten minutes earlier, _sniffing_ each box." Hugo giggled,

"I wasn't the one who got caught." Danielle raised an eager hand,

"Can I go first?" Zoe shrugged,

"Well, you are the youngest. We'll open them in order of youngest to oldest." Harrison nodded, standing up to grab more food. He was wearing those goggles that allowed him to see ghosts, and that was why they knew Freya had come in at one point without wanting to make herself known.

"Before we do that, has anyone seen Amelia?"

"Am I late?" Everyone turned and saw Amelia discarding her jacket, "I was just getting my gift for Harry. You have no idea how long it took to find her."

"Her?" Then Harrison froze at who came up the stairs.

His sister, Tazri, was standing there.

"Tazri?" Tazri nodded, tears in her eyes, and found herself being hugged tightly. Harrison was crying, "You're alive! I-I-I thought—"

"Did you really think an explosion would be enough to kill me?" She asked, "It has been a long time, brother."

"Aunt Tazri?" Eli got up, much to the confusion of everyone who didn't know or had forgotten Harrison had a sister. Tazri looked him over,

"Eli…you've grown." Eli chuckled,

"Well it has been nearly twenty years." He said, and gestured to Felix, Roxas, Aelin and Danielle, "These are my kids." He pulled Zoe up, "And this is my wife, Zoe. Kelly's daughter."

"So you found Kelly?" Tazri asked, "I remember, Harrison, you begged and pleaded for me to find him when he went missing. That was the last time we ever spoke." Harrison froze, realizing he would have to explain to his sister what had happened in that time. Amelia took his hand,

"Yes, we found him…but he's…not around anymore. I hope you like long stories." The three walked into a spare room to talk while the others opened gifts.

Danielle tore into her first gift with more ferocity than animals tearing into a carcass. She held up a toy of some sort, and Zoe noticed it was enchanted with a calming spell, likely to have her powers calm the hell down.

This went on for a bit, with people chucking gifts at each other and sorting them respectively, until it was Zoe's turn, and she grinned at what Adrien had gotten her, "Thank you, brother."

Adrien smirked, "I know what you like." When Zoe held up her gift, everyone choked, whirling on Adrien, who only winked at Eli as the gold negligee swayed between Zoe's hands. Eli gulped audibly.

Before Eden could ask what everyone was undoubtedly thinking, Zoe hummed to herself and said, "Don't let him fool you. He couldn't think of anything to get me other than food, since weaponry would be the go-to of everyone else. So he gave up and asked me outright, and I gave him precise orders. For once in his life, he obeyed them."

Eden smiled, opening her gift since she had insisted in her sister opening one first, regardless of age, and was shocked to see a flower made of precious gems. Some of the flowers on the gemstone bleeding heart flower were bright pink or red, which had a romantic quality. There was also rarer white Bleeding Heart on it, which was considered a symbol of purity and innocence, especially to represent a beautiful young woman who died in a tragic way.

Hana took the flower gently from her, getting on one knee.

"Eden Imelda…I have been in love with you for years, when I saw your kind heart. My heart broke when I thought I had lost you, and started slowly healing once you were back with us and finding your way. I know it will take time to truly recover, but I hope that I can help that right along, as you stayed by my side while I was sick. W-Will you go on a date with me?" Eden had tears in her eyes, taking the flower and kissing Hana.

Everyone was cheering as their ship sailed. Zoe was very happy for her sister. She was about to get up and offer her congratulations—since she knew Hana was scared shitless to do this—when she heard it. The knock. Just once, quick and hard.

Silence fell, interrupted only by the crackling fire.

Zoe knew, she knew, before Eli even glanced at her, who was standing at the door.

Everyone knew.

A beat, and then Eli was moving, opening the door and bracing himself against the onslaught of the cold,

Against the onslaught of Camille.

Snow clung to her hair as everyone stared at each other across the threshold. She had gotten an apartment across town instead of living with them, and they weren't sure she would be coming since she was still trying to convince Otar to power down enough that they could get Jared back. Gizmo had vowed not to return until Joselyn was found, and that wasn't gonna be happening for a while.

Pink tinged Camille's cheeks from the frigid night, but her face remained solemn. Cold as the snow-covered cobblestones.

Eli opened the door a bit wider, "We're in the sitting room."

"I see."

Conversation, tentative and halting, carried to the foyer. No doubt an attempt by everyone to give them some privacy and sense of normalcy.

When Camille remained on the doorstep, he extended a hand towards her, "Here, I'll take your coat." Zoe could tell he was trying not to hold his breath as his twin glanced past him, into the mansion, as if weighing whether to actually come in or go back to that crappy apartment of hers.

Eden approached the brother and sister, "Cam, you'll get sick if you just stand there in the cold," she tutted, smiling broadly, "Come sit with us."

Camille's grey-green eyes slid to Eli's violet ones. Wary. Assessing. Before she wordlessly, sat by the fire, removing her coat, scarf, and gloves to reveal one of those simple and elegant gowns she wore on medieval worlds or for special occasion. She'd opted for slate gray which displayed her broken soul for all to see. No jewelry, but that was normal. Certainly no gifts, but she had come, and that was enough.

Harrison, Amelia, and Tazri came out of the guest room, and Tazri looked Camille over, before holding out a hand,

"I'm Tazri, your aunt. We haven't met."

"We wouldn't have." Camille said politely, but quietly, shaking her aunt's hand. Hana brought over some wine for both women. Kagami crossed her arms, worried for Camille's wellbeing since they had become good friends on Blight and it did hurt to have that distance between them now.

"Don't give her wine! Give her food! She clearly needs it." Kagami called from her perch by the windowsill.

Camille halted halfway across the room from where she had been indeed going towards the food, spine stiff. Amelia went still as death, looking to Harrison worriedly.

Eli paused beside Camille, that plastered-on smile faltering. Kagami got up, handing Camille a plate of food,

"I heard your stomach growling. Enhanced hearing comes with my stone. Happy Solstice, Cam." Camille stared at Kagami, until a ghost of a smile curved her lips…

"Thank you, Kagami. I didn't get a chance to eat much today since most of the stores were closed."

Zoe felt, more than saw, the room relax slightly.

Aelin said brightly, "We were getting to gifts!"

It occurred to Zoe then that nobody had known what to get Camille.

"Happy birthday, Zoe." She said, "I know it's a little late." Zoe brightened,

"I saved a piece for you in the fridge if you want." Camille shrugged,

"You enjoy it." She sat in an armchair, "And continue with your gifts." She said this softly, but not weakly.

Eli rushed toward a box near the front of the pile, "This one's for you," he declared, and Zoe threw Adrien a glance that begged him to get the others talking. Felix was shaking before storming out, and Kaylee had a worried expression on her face, but seemed to realize he wanted to be alone.

Quantic Jared was the one to start talking, picking up on the discomfort, "So Roxas, I hear you've started figuring out invisibility." Roxas didn't miss a beat, and launched into a detailed description of his lessons. Zoe knew she'd have to thank him later.

Eli had reached Camille by then, offering what seemed to be a heavy paper-wrapped box. As she unwrapped it, he smiled,

"I went to that bookshop you mentioned being interested in, the one by the theater. I asked for recommendations, and the woman there said this author's books were her favorite."

Camille picked up one of the books and fanned through the pages, "Thank you." The words were stiff as she started reading, becoming pointedly preoccupied. Zoe decided to go grab the gifts she had purchased—and was very grateful for the new, nicer, cane that Gavin got her.

Kaylee looked at her gift curiously, "It's beautiful. What is it?" Adrien examined the gift and brightened,

"They're Okte leathers. The Okte Fae are a breed of Fae specifically for combat. The leathers itself are designed to be comfortable, durable, and used in combat." Kaylee looked over the leathers skeptically,

"Are they enchanted?"

"No. These leathers are actually resistant to enchantments. Why?" Zoe asked, Kaylee shrugged,

"I would rather not use magic unless I absolutely have to. Thank you though, for the gift."

"No problem."

It was about an hour before presents were opened, and then the night became a blur of laughing, singing, and some of the adults drinking. The kids drank some cider.

Kaylee had changed into her Okte leathers, and looked like a warrior through and through. She and Quantic Jared were already planning minor alterations to it to increase mobility and such.

It was only when the clock chimed two in the morning that yawns began to become common among the adults—the kids had gone to bed at midnight, leaving Felix and Kaylee as the only youths awake.

Camille got to her feet and bid her aunt and parents goodnight, and drifted to the front door as she put on her jacket and such. Zoe sighed, watching her go.

Eli, however, ran after her.

…

He had had enough.

Enough of the coldness, the sharpness. Enough of the sword-straight spine and razor sharp stare that had only honed itself in these months.

He could barely hear over the roaring in his head as he charged into the snowy night, could barely register running past his wife to find his twin sister.

Camille had already made it to the gate, walking with an unfaltering warrior's grace despite the icy ground. Her collection of books was under her arm.

Only when he reached her did he realize he had nothing to say that wouldn't make her ignore him.

"I'll walk you home," was all he had to offer. Camille paused just past the low iron gate, her face cold and pale as moonlight.

Beautiful. Even with the weight loss, she was as beautiful standing in the snow as she had been all those years ago when he met her. An infinitely more deadly, he knew this.

She looked him over, "I'm fine."

"It's a long walk, and it's late."

She held her ground, proud as a queen, "Go back into the house." He gave her a crooked grin, one he knew would make her temper fire up, but anything was better than the emotionless mask she had had on since Jared's death, "I think I need some fresh air."

Camille rolled her eyes and launched into a walk with impressive speed. He followed her, turning his boots into ice skates to play around a little, maybe get a smile out of her. He didn't remember the last time she had genuinely smiled, but he missed it.

To her credit, she lasted the entire block before she whirled around to face him again, "Go back to the house."

"I will," he said, "after I make sure you make it to your apartment safely." That piece-of-shit apartment she had holed herself in whenever Otar was off wandering, not wanting to talk to her family.

"I don't want or need _anything_ from you, brother." She said. Her eyes—just like their father's yet wholly different—bored into him. She sighed, "Nothing you _can_ give me that is." She wanted Jared back. That was the only thing she wanted.

"You know I can't just obliterate Otar without great risk. Sure, zettaflare _might_ be able to do it, but we aren't sure. I'm tired of playing these bullshit games!"

"I'm not." She snapped, keeping her chin high.

"Well, everyone else is. Perhaps you can try a little harder this year. The kids miss you too. Zoe and I understand better than anyone how painful it is to lose your mate, but please don't isolate yourself." He begged her. And he meant it when he said he understood her pain. Sure, not to the extent she felt, he that moment when he had lost her still haunted him, and there were nights he had to hold her just a little tighter to remind himself she was still with him.

Those striking eyes slid towards him, and it was an effort to stand his ground, "Stop." she sneered, the void entering her eyes, "Stop trying to comfort me like you wouldn't do the exact same thing in my shoes! Stop trying to drag me into your happy family! _Leave me alone!_" She stormed off, and Eli sighed as he took her hand firmly.

He knew a wounded animal when he saw one. Knew the teeth they could bare, the viciousness they could display. But he didn't care right now.

"Talk to me, Cam. Tell me—"

She ripped her hand out of his grip and stared him down, her eyes glowing in a way that told him she was about to attack him with magic, so he prepared his own power to defend himself if needed.

He waited for the verbal or magical lashing to begin. For her to at least try shredding him into ribbons.

But she only stared at him, then walked away. This time, when she continued onwards, he didn't follow her, salty tears freezing on his cheeks. He watched her go until she was a shadow against the darkness and vanished completely.

Jaay appeared next to him, "I've had marshmallow cookies, and now I am in a good enough mood to give you my amulet to transform."

"Thanks… Jaay, let's fly!" He transformed into Mockingjay, having missed the feeling of transforming and having the suit on.

Without hesitation, he flew into the air and followed Camille from afar, waiting until she was safely inside her apartment to leave. But first he waited until the lights were off and she was sleeping, before he returned home to check on his wife and kids.

…

Camille sealed the third and final lock on her apartment door and slumped against the wood.

Silence settled in around her, welcoming and smothering. Silence, to soothe the trembling that had chased her back here.

He'd followed.

She knew it in her bones. He'd kept high in the skies, but he followed nonetheless until she had entered the apartment. He was hopefully gone now.

She tried and failed to muster up some shame at how she had treated him when he was just trying to help her. But nothing came. Nothing at all.

There was anger or despair, occasionally. Sharp, hot pain that sliced through her. The less hope she had of Otar relenting and her getting Jared back, the more numb she became. Most of the time, there was just silence. Ringing, droning silence.

She let out a shuddering sigh and slid down the wall until she was sitting against it. Until she drew her knees against her chest and stared into the dimness.

The silence raged and echoed around her.

She felt nothing.

She sat there with nothing but her own thoughts for a while, until that numbness turned into rage. She got up and punched the brick fireplace, splitting her knuckles, but she couldn't care less about that.

"Why did you leave me?!" She screamed at nothing in particular, knowing that Jared wasn't here anymore, and it wasn't like Otar would react if he was here. She no longer cared where Otar went half the time, likely wandering, since he always came back. "_What did I do wrong?_!" She continued punching the fireplace, maybe hoping the whole crappy building would cave in on her, or maybe just needing an outlet for her rage that rose up, and she knew it would die down in mere moments and leave her depressed or numb.

She was relieved to feel the numbness again, and collapsed onto her small bed. Small, because anything larger would have left room for him and made that hole in her chest even larger.

She didn't bother to change out of her gown, or even take off her scarf. She knew her newfound insomnia would leave her sleepless without her pills, but she didn't trust herself tonight, so she would have to deal.

Once again, she was locked in thoughts of what she could have done differently, to get there faster. His last words to her, _"I'm sorry, Camille,"_ rang through her head.

She still had those dreams from time to time, as though she was seeing through his eyes, or observing him, but she doubted they were real anymore. Maybe they had been back when she was a child and found herself staring through his eyes, but doubtful now.

Sighing, she turned over in bed, gazing out at where the moon was starting to sink. Great, she'd pulled another all-nighter.

She shut her eyes and decided to at least trying to sleep, fully aware she was going to be plagued with more nightmares.

…

Felix was sitting on the roof of the mansion, wrapping his wings around himself for warmth. The moon was low in the sky, and the temperature was well below freezing, but he didn't mind too much. It was something to distract him from his racing thoughts.

Marriage. _Marriage_. A forced marriage.

He knew there was no way out of this. He refused to let his parents attack and start a war in his name. He refused to let lives be needlessly taken because of him.

He heard a noise and saw Kaylee come up to the roof, wearing some warrior leathers.

"Felix?" He turned to face her and saw she had brought up a jacket, "I noticed you came up here without a jacket. Are you stargazing?"

"Yeah." He accepted the jacket, "Nice clothes."

"Thanks. They're surprisingly warm. Might need a few minor tweaks, but it's nice." She sat down beside him, "It's nearly three in the morning. What are you even doing up here?"

"Thinking." He said quietly, "I guess you get to teach me how to play baseball."

"Why?"

"Because on January 2nd I will have no choice but to participate in a forced marriage. I don't think there's a way out of it." Kaylee's eyes widened, then she brightened,

"My brother has been researching magical laws, maybe we can find some sort of loophole. What's the age of consent for magical beings?"

"Irrelevant due to the jumps in age. Generally it's physically sixteen, which I am. Or for a female it's once they bleed for the first time."

"So that doesn't help." She helped him up, "We should go talk to Jared about this." They walked down to the basement aka Jared's lab. Thankfully he wasn't asleep just yet. "Jared, can we talk to you for a moment?" He rubbed his eyes and put his glasses on,

"What is it? It's roughly four in the morning."

"Felix is being forced into marriage, Zoe and Eli can't stop it, and we need some sort of loophole in the magical laws to stop this." That had him awake,

"What specifically are you looking for as a loophole?"

Felix shrugged, "Something that would stop it, but there is no way my parents could be blamed." Jared was flipping through a book,

"Well, according to the laws of magic, a bargain with even a drop of magic involved becomes binding and cannot be broken in any way."

"What would count as magic involved?" Felix asked, knowing Kaylee didn't like using magic for anything unless absolutely necessary.

"If it's between you and Kaylee, all it would take is the magic in your being. So it would just be a simple bargain. Oh, and most witches usually only get married on one of the three days of the full moon." Kaylee brightened, getting an idea. She held out a hand to Felix,

"In exchange for you granting me protection and knowledge when desired, I will take you for three days a month of my choosing." Felix had tears in his eyes, relief flooding his face,

"You have yourself a deal." They shook hands and both gasped as Felix's magic activated the bargain, and they both had to symbol of infinity on their wrist, easily hidden by a watch or a bracelet.

"Oh…sorry…" Felix apologized, not expecting that. Kaylee shrugged,

"It's fine. You didn't know, and neither did I." Jared looked in the book,

"It didn't say anything about that in the book. Now that that's settled, can we please go to bed?"

"Yup!" Kaylee hugged her brother, "Thanks Jared."

OoOoO

The holiday passed too fast for Felix's liking. Sure, the family had been rehearsing dozens of scenarios to get out of this. But January 2nd came, exactly one week from the day he was to be married, and his parents were dropping him off at the mountain palace of the Sardothien clan in a world called The Wastes.

Valeria was waiting for them as they landed in the Gummi Ship. Felix noted both of his parents looked wicked, furious, as though daring the matron to take their son.

He locked eyes with Amaya, his supposed bride-to-be, and politely shook her hand,

"I guess you and I will be getting to know each other over the course of this week."

"That's right." She gestured to the girl behind her, "This is my younger sister, Kyra." Kyra also shook his hand, not saying a word. He turned back to where his mother was using the new cane she had been given, which housed a gun within it. She leaned on Eli and pointed it at the matron,

"If you hurt him—"

"Worry not." Valeria assured, but her tone made him unsure if she meant it, "Your son will be treated with respect. He is, after all, uniting us with the Blackwell and Sommers covens."

"If you hurt a hair on his head or make him do something he's uncomfortable with," Eli said calmly, but there was an underlying rage in his words, "I will make sure to give my dear aunt Morrigan a tip of someone to use her wyrms on." That was a lie, supposedly, Felix wasn't sure if his aunt would even do that, but it sure as hell scared Amaya and Kyra.

Valeria narrowed her eyes, "See you in a week's time." Zoe sent one last look at her son, reassuring him that everything would be okay.

"See you then." Once they were gone, Amaya took Felix's hands and pulled him into the palace,

"Come along, Felix, there's much to see and do before the wedding."


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40: Wedding Crasher **

Amaya led him through halls of gold and silver until they arrived in a lavish bedroom in the tallest tower. He would admit he didn't fight that hard when some of the servants forcefully bathed him, and cut his hair—which had been almost reaching his shoulder—to be slightly shorter, and dressed him like he was being prepared for dinner.

For all he knew, he was going to be the meal.

While these witches looked human, Felix knew full well that they weren't. He just needed to figure out what kind of witches they were, though this wouldn't be too difficult since there were three main categories of witch, and from there it wouldn't be hard to figure out sub-category. The best way to do this would be to figure out if they worshipped the triple goddess—mother, maiden and crone. But until he figured out what he was dealing with, he didn't know what they called their servants, and was too afraid to ask.

He took one look at the velvet turquoise outfit that was laid out for him on the bed, and wrapped his white bathrobe around him tightly, insisting on his old clothes being returned. The servant refused, and when he begged again, this time sounding desperate and pathetic, the servant stormed out.

Bundled in his robe, he sat for minute after minute, with the breeze outside being the only sounds. He wished his wings worked, then he could fly for a bit to clear his head.

The bedroom was significantly larger than his room in the Agreste mansion, or in Sam's mansion. Its walls were pale green, delicately sketched with patterns of gold, and the moldings were golden as well. It might have been tacky if the the ivory furniture and rugs not complimented it so well. The gigantic bed was a similar color scheme, the curtains that hung from the towering headboard drifted in the breeze from the open windows.

The door creaked open, and the servant returned with a bundle of clothing in her hands, his clothes. She put them in a drawer for him, and handed him a pair of trousers and a tunic that fit him well. A bit fancy, but he didn't complain when he donned the white shirt, nor when he buttoned the dark blue tunic, nor when he put on the black pants.

The servant opened the door to the stairs, and he walked down them into the hall, and was taken to the dining room, where the matron and her daughters no longer had plates in front of them, but still sipped from goblets made of pure silver. Food still remained on the table, an array of spices lingering in the air. Felix then realized he was starving, his head unnervingly light.

"Before you ask," Amaya said, "The food is safe for you to eat." She pointed to the chair on the other end of the table. When he didn't move, she sighed, "What do you want then?"

_To eat, to flee, to go home to my family without a war._

Kyra chuckled from her seat along the length of the table, "I told you so, sister." She flicked a glance towards her sister, "Your skills with men are not great. Rather terrible in fact, seeing as he obviously wants to be at home." For a moment, he wondered and feared she was a telepath, but he checked with his own power and found nothing like that. Maybe he just wasn't doing a good job of hiding it.

He managed to make his features blank, willed his soul to be calm as he said, "Now that I'm here, what do you plan on doing with me?"

Kyra snorted, Amaya smiled a little, and the matron said with a snarl of annoyance, "Just sit down."

An empty seat had been pulled out at the end of the table. So many foods, piping hot and wafting those enticing smells.

"We won't bite, unless you want me to." Kyra winked, and Amaya smacked her arm, muttering something to her that he couldn't make out, but was probably along the lines of "he's my fiancé, back off"

Valeria rose, stalking around the table and picked up a dish, put it on the table, served it up, and forced Felix to sit down.

"Thanks…but you never answered my question about you want to do with me."

Valeria's eyes didn't leave his face, "As long as you keep an image, remain loyal, and produce offspring with my daughter, you can do whatever you wish."

"So I won't be your slave?" He dared asked.

"You would be under normal circumstances," Kyra said bluntly, "But I'm pretty sure your parents scare mother too much for that to come for at least a few years assuming your folks don't get stronger." Okay, so Kyra could be trusted to tell him the truth. That was good to know. Valeria's glare at her youngest child just proved the statement.

Kyra pointedly cleared her throat at Amaya, who flashed a glare at her. After an exchanged look he couldn't read, Amaya sighed and asked, "Do you have any particular interests?"

"Not really." Not true, but he wasn't about to explain his love of sparring, learning, stargazing, flying or thinking about trying painting. He wasn't about to explain it when she seemed to be having a hard time talking to him civilly.

On instinct, he shot to his feet, wisdom be damned, and was about to kick out of his chair and run. Then invisible hands clapped on his arms and shoved him back into the seat,

"Do not do whatever it was you were just contemplating," Valeria warned, keeping her magic firm. But he wasn't going to put up with that,

"Let go of me!" He shouted, activating his powers to free himself. Then he sat in more of a slouched position. He glanced at the knife beside his plate. He should have gone for it, futile effort or no, because if the matron was dead, he might be able to get out of this without Kaylee's help. Then he wondered where that sudden bloodlust had come from, but it _was_ his freedom on the line here.

Valeria glared, before resuming a formal posture, "The food is not enchanted, or drugged, and it will be your own gods damned fault if you starve and faint. So you're going to sit at this table and _eat_, Felix." Felix glared at her, part of him wanting to not eat just to spite her. But he hadn't had much of an appetite before, so he really was hungry.

Hesitantly, he picked up the silver fork. All three witches watched his every move, as though they knew he wanted to make a break for it. Once again he cursed himself for being the price of Danielle's bullshit, otherwise his wings would still work and he _could_ get away. But that meant war, so he buried the idea down.

He ate his entire plate in silence, too aware of his fiancé observing every bite. Once he was done, he got up,

"Thank you for the meal." He said politely, moving to leave and go back to his room.

"Won't you stay?" Kyra said with a sweet venom from where she lounged in her seat, "We have cakes and wine."

"Father says I shouldn't drink until I'm eighteen, doesn't want me to follow in mother's footsteps." Lie. Eli actually didn't care since Zoe's word was law more often than not, but he just didn't want to be around the matron anymore. "I'm tired. I would like to rest."

There was silence, before Kyra spoke, "I feel like I have the right to ask _why_ you find our company to be so unpleasant that you would rather eat hot coals than be near us, when surely the girls at home outside your family aren't much to look at."

"Your appearance or that of my relatives is irrelevant. I am being forced into marriage against the will of both myself and my parents just because your bitch ass of a mother decided to strike when we're weaker. So I'm going to be the one asking why you bother inviting me here at all—or forcing me to dine with you—when this will only end in bloodshed." He gasped a little as he felt the matron slap him, but she didn't have anything to say since he was right.

"In this marriage, we are putting off all wars between our covens." She said, rage in her tone, "And it's only because of your parents' wrath that I don't throw you into a cell."

"Do it. I _dare_ you." Felix snapped, letting his eyes reveal the power that lay within. Valeria's glare sharpened until he took out a knife and grabbed a part of his wings,

"I dare you." No matter how ruined they were, he like any angel was very protective of his wings, so this threat made him relent.

"And you wonder why he hates us, mother," Kyra crossed her arms, "if I were him, I would feel the same."

"This doesn't concern you, Kyra." Amaya said warningly to her sister.

Enough. Felix backed towards the door. Putting his back to them could be problematic, so he slipped onto the other side of the door.

A moment later, Kyra's barking laugh echoed through the halls, followed by a vicious growl that shut her up.

He stalked back up all the stairs to his tower bedroom and bolted the door shut, not that it would do anything more than give him a heads up. He observed his large room and found himself weeping. Even if his bargain with Kaylee managed to keep him unmarried, he would still be stuck here, and only sometimes see his parents or siblings.

He hated the pajamas he was offered, the textures were weird. Silk, he assumed, but he still hated it. He took after his mother in that sense, where he hated expensive clothing, cheaper the better.

The silence in the room was eerie, so he opened a window to hear the birds or the breeze or something, and he grabbed a book of some sort—he wasn't particularly interested in the book, it just gave him something to do that wasn't stew in his emotions—and started reading.

The sun had set a while ago when he heard his door unlocking, which alerted him to someone entering. Not like it mattered since he couldn't fly away.

Amaya came in with a tray, which had a small chocolate cake on it, "I thought you'd want one. I saw your light on from below." He didn't bother to respond, not wanting to say anything unkind. He had nothing against her specifically, but this situation and her mother infuriated him to the core.

A moment of silence, before she asked, "Are you in love with someone else? Or is there a line of other women for you to pick from."

It was another few moments before he answered. "Neither. But I know being in this situation will rip any chance of finding real love away from me." He snapped the book shut and stared at her in such a way that she squirmed, "Is that why you came up here? To find out if I find you more attractive than other women, or if I have a girl back home? Why bother to ask at all, when I'll be shackled to you for the rest of my life."

Amaya was clearly a little offended by that, but her words didn't make it show, "I suppose I came off as a little insensitive, especially since I am the one who brought you up to my mother. Had I known this would be the price for a conversation with her, I wouldn't have said any—" She then realized she was only digging herself a hole, and that Felix's back was now to her, and he wasn't touching the cake she brought up for him, "I'll let you rest."

He gave a distant nod and gestured for her to leave, making it clear either she left through the door, or his powers would have her leave through the window—not that it really mattered which way she went since she had functional wings he was jealous of.

She turned from where she stood in the doorway, "Goodnight, Felix. You will be happy here." Then she shut the door, and Felix made sure to magically fuse it shut so he didn't have interruptions until he was good and ready.

He didn't have any relaxation that night, so he wondered how he fell asleep, or when he had fallen asleep.

OoOoO

He pretended to meander through the silent gardens on a section of the mountain. People trying to get him out of his room had become an annoyance, so he was just out here to get them off his back.

Tonight was the wedding. Tonight was the night Kaylee would hopefully give him a three day reprieve. The last week had been hell on earth, with the matron trying to bring him and Amaya together, when he was moments away from either going into a blind rage or sobbing, and she was capable of taking a hint.

He chewed on his nails as he walked, wondering how he was going to survive here until the damn matron died—and seeing as she was four-hundred and witches could like for hundreds of thousands of years, he didn't see that happening any time soon. Kaylee refused to use magic, which took immortality off the table, so he only had a few decades tops of getting out of the wedding—unless Harrison or Quantic Jared found a scientific way to make people immortal, which he was praying for.

He approached a bench in an alcove blooming with various flowers when the sound of steps on shifting gravel filled the air. Footsteps. He straightened, looking for the source, and instead finding a large apple in full bloom.

Someone stood behind him. A quiet giggle was unnervingly near. His heart leaped into his throat, and cast a subtle glance over his shoulder, only to find nobody.

_Oh. _Witches had the same tradition as humans, with seeing the bride before the wedding bringing bad luck. With what was hopefully to come tonight, he couldn't help but wish he had seen her.

"Felix!" His handmaiden, a girl named Hatsune, called, "Felix, lunch!" Hatsune and Kyra were the only ones here that he could stand being around, since Hatsune didn't talk much and Kyra reminded him of his mother with her lack of shame in the face of authority.

"Coming!" He called back, walking in to see her.

Hatsune was a young woman appearing to be in her late teens, with long russet hair that concealed half of her face, and burgundy colored eyes. She wore the typical servant attire of a gown of various colors, but with less elegant fabrics, today it was turquoise.

When he got to the dining table, he was relieved to see he was the only one there. And, equally to his shock, Kyra was the next in, and she handed him a spare kitchen knife.

"Just in case Mother gets bitchy." She said, sitting down in her own seat, "She won't be joining us, too busy making Amaya into her little doll. I personally she's trying to live vicariously through her children." She picked at her food, "How old are you, anyway? I know you're physically and mentally almost seventeen, but how many years ago were you born?"

"Seven, I think. Maybe eight."

Kyra tsked, "So young, so grave. And already a deadly force."

"So is this what you do with your life? Force males into marriage and eat fancy meals?"

"We also dance naked in the moonlight to worship some sort of god, and snatch babies from their cradles to put in out spells." She replied sarcastically, at least he hoped she was being sarcastic, "Not that I do anything like that, since I'm the witch of daytime. But that is kind of the life of most witch covens. You train, you kill, you reproduce, repeat until you die. The Blackwell coven was very lucky in that account, one witch willingly doing the reproducing and the rest doing whatever the hell they want."

"Does your mother or you do that?"

"Nah. I fucked Mother up when I was born, so she is barren now. And I have better things to do with my existence. Immortality is boring if you do the same damn thing forever."

"I suppose you're right." He mused, picking at his food. Kyra frowned at him,

"See, this is why humans are like tiny dogs from the perspective of witches. When you get stressed out, you starve yourselves. How are you going to see the light at the end of the tunnel if you die of starvation first?" She piled some more food on his plate, "You're a damn twig with some muscle. I get being nervous on your wedding day, but you have eaten _maybe_ a singular meal's worth of food since the first dinner here. This isn't like Hades and Persephone with you not being allowed to eat if you want to not be trapped, it doesn't matter whether you eat or not." While putting food on his plate, she noticed a small part of the bargain tattoo on his wrist, which he kept mostly hidden with long sleeves, "What's that?" He pulled his sleeve to cover it,

"Nothing."

"Come on, you can tell me—"

"If I eat the food, will you stop asking?" She nodded,

"I can agree to that." With that, he ate the food, praying his body wouldn't flip out at the sudden food intake and try purging it. He was in no mood to be vomiting. Even if he knew Kaylee would stop the actual wedding, the nerves were getting to him.

Once he was done, Kyra grinned her approval, "Now, since you will be getting no sleep tonight, I suggest you go take a nap or something. I know, I know, nerves. But here," she handed him some sort of wine, "It's pixie wine, designed to calm your nerves and generally make you happy. But you will get loopy if you drink anything more than a glass."

Taking a small sip, Felix was startled to find that while it looked and smelled like wine, it tasted more like a cider. It was sweet, but not unpleasant. It was actually a nice taste.

"Drink up. It will help you sleep." She helped him up and nudged him in Hatsune's direction, "Can you get him up to his room? I don't think he'd be able to get up there alone." Hatsune nodded and guided him back up the tower and gently got him comfortable on the bed.

"Someone will come wake you when it's time to get ready," she said, "For now, get some rest."

Too out of it to argue, Felix was asleep almost immediately.

OoOoO

He woke up to two unfamiliar witches in his room with him, their faces barely discernible in the darkness, save for their loose, flowing black gowns. They remained silent while they reached for him. He didn't fight them, even though his wine had worn off—there was nowhere to run, and his only chance was this bargain with Kaylee working out. Their hands clasped around his forearms, cool yet solid.

They must have been sent by Valeria to get him ready for the wedding.

The two witches didn't simply go over to the bathroom and vanity he had, but instead brought him down the stairs and down forgotten halls until they reached a nondescript room where they stripped him, bathed him roughly, and then—to his reasonable horror, feeling exposed enough as it was—began to paint him with swirls and flowers and such.

Their brushes were extremely cold, but their grips were firm enough that he couldn't move. The only thing he could do was raise his ruined wings enough to keep them clean, though it was an effort to prevent himself from kicking them and running. But no…this was for the best. Kaylee would hopefully get him out of this, so he couldn't fight too much now—especially since he could tell he was still supposed to be somewhat high off the wine—or there would be suspicion. The night before, he had practiced his surprised and horrified facial expressions and desperate denials for when Kaylee came to 'kidnap' him. His parents and siblings were all keeping up their mental shields and planning to fake an attack against her. This would hopefully work.

Because he didn't know what he would do if it didn't.

The two witches Felix could only assume were Valeria's personal servants offered no explanation to the paint, so he assumed this was some sort of witch custom. Or maybe this was a ridiculous test. He didn't know, and wasn't sure he wanted to know. So he stopped demanding answers about about two minutes, and let them finish, simply using a distractor spell so no intimate parts were noticed for longer than a second.

From the neck up, he was regal: his normally messy hair was brushed and housed a rose-gold crown imbedded with emeralds. But from the neck down, he was a witch's plaything. Once the silver paint had dried, the servants put him in a gauzy white outfit…if you could even call it that. It was little more than than a toga of gossamer, just wide enough to cover half of his chest, pinned at his shoulder with gold strings. The fabric flowed down to a belt coordinating his crown, where it fell to the rest of the fabric which barely reached his kneecaps.

The cold breeze against his skin told him that most of his back with exposed, likely because of his wings. The servants ignored his demands to be clothed in something else, so he decided he could at least fight against the outfit and went to forcefully remove it,

"I wouldn't do that." A soft voice said from the doorway. Kyra stood there, her arms crossed against her chest. "I'll have you know my sister hates it too, but it's tradition." If Amaya was supposed to be night, Kyra had been right when she said she was symbolizing daytime, with her dress consisting of light shades of pink, orange and yellow, and her simple sandals. Her chestnut hair was curled and flowing down her back.

"Don't see why you can be modest yet I can't be." Felix snapped, "Is this really necessary?"

"Unfortunately yes." She said, "And I was sent to be your escort to the ceremony."

_Come on…hurry, Kaylee._

He took her outstretched hand, feeling very uncomfortable. A hundred thoughts were in his head. What if she decided not to help? What if she was too late since she didn't use magic to travel? What if this still sparked war? What if—what if—what if—

It took all of his willpower to keep from cringing at his own appearance as he walked down more stairs. On the other side of the doors in front of him was an entire coven of witches waiting for their heir to be married. On the other side were his parents, who were worried for his safety, but also smug since their plan had a good chance of working,

"Don't be nervous." Kyra assured, and it was only then that Felix noticed she was floating, not standing, her legs dangling uselessly below her.

"I'm not. What happened to you?" Kyra hesitated,

"It's…a long story. I'll just say I'm paralyzed from the waist down. Thankfully I'm a witch, so it doesn't matter all that much." She smiled hollowly, "You look great, all things considered. But you sound like you're going to your own funeral." On instinct, Felix plastered a smile on his face, secretly imagining the look on Valeria's face when Kaylee came to his rescue. Kyra rolled her eyes and nudged him towards the doorway as they opened by some magic, "It'll be over before you know it." She encouraged, gently pushing him into the moonlight.

Three hundred witches rose to their feet and pivoted towards him, but Felix saw his distressed parents still sitting—he noticed his siblings were standing because they were small and couldn't see. Never had so many people watched him before, and he wasn't sure how people could crave this kind of attention.

Kyra coughed from the shadows of the palace, and Felix remember to start walking towards the alter, slowly though, with his head held high, where his eyes rested on Amaya, his classmate. Classmate…bride…he didn't really know anymore. She definitely wasn't a friend, but she also wasn't his enemy.

Amaya, being one of the only people to see just how against this he was, didn't look much happier than he felt, and she was wearing the female version of his attire, which was even more revealing. The only difference was that her fabric was various shades of purple and blue like the night sky. Her bat-like wings were tucked tightly behind her.

His vision narrowed on her, and it was an effort to keep walking, to keep his knees from buckling. He didn't want this, not at all. He noticed his parents and siblings in the front row—and how had he gotten so close to the dais?—silently praying that their plan would work.

He forced his gaze back up to Amaya. Each step was too fast, propelling him towards his mental demise.

Ten steps towards the alter, standing on the first step, he slowed and stopped. No, he couldn't do this. If Kaylee didn't arrive in the next few moments, he would run. It was selfish, at least that was how he felt, but maybe he could be allowed to be selfish just this once, without anyone paying a price for it. He'd already been verbally and emotionally belittled by Valeria all week, so it was reasonable that he didn't want to spend the rest of his life dealing with that.

Amaya seemed to realize what was happening, that he was on the brink of a panic attack, and extended a hand, brows furrowing slightly in concern. But Felix didn't see that, his heart was beating too fast; and between his skin and bones, his power thrummed and pounded, trying to push its way out to help him. It would wipe out the entire coven if let free, but he couldn't let it do that, now could he?

This was inescapable. Even if he ran, where could he go? He couldn't fly, and he didn't trust his magic not to immediately go on offense. The vow he was about to make was inescapable, binding he and Amaya forever, binding her forever to his weary and miserable soul. He knew he couldn't stall anymore, so he tried to accept his fate.

He didn't notice how his tan skin had gone pale, or Zoe pleading to the matron to call it off as he was obviously uncomfortable.

"Felix," Valeria warned, her hand steady as she went to help guide him up the dais.

He retreated a step. _No._

Valeria's mouth tightened, glaring at Amaya and Kyra, who were looking to each other with worry in their expressions. The crowd stared muttering, and Eli started trying to get up to guide Felix away and be done with trying to avoid a war, if it meant his son's misery.

Valeria said smoothly, "Come on, Felix, and let the Sommers and Sardothien covens be eternally united."

He tried to get his lungs to draw air so he could voice his refusal, so his parents would take him home like they were clearly ready to do as it was. Roxas, who now had the additional power of invisibility, was standing behind Valeria ready to rip her heart out—the only reason Felix knew this was because of the magical signature that belonged to his brother was lingering behind the matron.

But he didn't have to say anything.

Thunder cracked behind him. Witches screamed, falling back, a few vanishing outright as darkness erupted.

He whirled around, and through the dark energy, he almost cried in relief when he saw Kaylee straightening her Okte leathers.

"Hello, Felix," she greeted in a manner that implied she was superior to him, and with the display she supposedly was to blame for—it was actually Zoe doing the theatrics using a device Harrison had built, since she saw pissing people off as an art form and liked to make a spectacle of everything—that wouldn't be hard to believe.

He should have known she would make it in time. Why did he doubt her? Kaylee's raven hair was up in a braided bun for the occasion to make herself look more intimidating, with her electric blue tips appearing at random points in the bun—though being in those leathers was clearly enough to send many of the witches running, since the Okte Fae were a brutal race, and Kaylee's hair was styled in such a way that hid the fact her ears weren't pointed.

She angled her head slightly, smirking and keeping up the facade of being better than everyone, just to be sure that this would work even if the bargain wasn't enough to convince Valeria. Her green eyes sparkled in the moonlight as they fixed on the matron, who was trying to grab Felix, as she held a hand up to when some of the guards had their swords drawn, as though she was sizing up how to get Felix out of this safely. He could see the gears turning in her head, and it was a fraction of a second before she was attacking and a minute before she had them down on the ground.

Amaya was looking on with her sister, impressed, before gently guiding Felix away from this to ensure he wasn't harmed.

"What a pretty little wedding," Kaylee said, putting her hands on her hips. The remaining crowd was either on the ground, being tripped constantly by Danielle's uncontrollable bullshit, or trying to get away. She looked over at Felix slowly, and Amaya was in front of him—for what reason, he didn't know, since he had mainly given her the cold shoulder with the occasional friendly moment—as though she was trying to protect him, shielding him with her now outstretched wings.

"Whoever you are," Valeria growled, stalking towards them with her nails turning into claws, "You are not welcome. So get out." Kaylee clicked her tongue, and Felix found himself impressed with the performance she was putting on.

"Oh, I don't think so. Not when I have decided to call in my bargain with dear Felix over here." She looked back at Valeria, and then to Amaya, "You try to break the bargain, and you know what will happen." She went on, chuckling a bit as she jerked her chin and moved Amaya's wing to lay eyes on Felix. She almost broke character and snorted at what he was wearing, instead she scoffed. "At least you could look happy to see me." She faced both matron and the two heirs, "I'll be taking him now."

"Get away from my son, Kaylee!" Eli pretended to demand, "I thought we already discussed this, the bargain was a moment of weakness on his part and shouldn't mean anything. He's a child!"

"Oh? But then what is he doing getting married in the same calendar year." She snapped. Amaya looked to Felix with confusion,

"What's she talking about?"

"In exchange for my combat services in a moment of need during The Tragedy, he is to spend three days a month of my choosing with me." Kaylee recited, "And I feel the desire to take him now. There are three days of the full moon after all, and I wish to spend them all with my little friend." She said 'friend' as though she meant toy, but Felix knew she really meant real friend.

"Don't you dare." Zoe sneered, and Felix was shocked at how terrifying his mother was, even when she was faking it. He had forgotten that she spent years as an actress. He had heard tales of how scary she could be, but hadn't ever seen it firsthand, and assumed it would be dialed down with her head fixed. No, the mother anger made her more terrifying than Kaylee's performance.

Kaylee didn't even flinch.

"Oh, was I interrupting? I thought it was already over." She looked to the dais, where the high priestess who had been going to do the ceremony had vanished entirely, "At least Felix seems to think so."

"Let us finish the ceremony—" Valeria started to demand, but Kaylee gestured to the dais,

"Your High Priestess seems to agree with it being over too."

Eli sounded desperate now, even if there was a gleeful twinkle in his violet eyes, "Kaylee—"

"I am in no mood to bargain," she said, "even though I have no doubt I could work it to my advantage." Felix jolted at the caress of her hand on his elbow, "Let's go, and get you out of these absurd clothes."

"Name your price," Amaya pleaded, and Felix was surprised to hear the genuine fear at the idea of him being some sort of slave to a bargain. Kyra was clearly scared as well, but had more faith in his ability to handle himself since she knew him a little better. Maybe they both would also be okay with this marriage not happening…

"Don't bother," Kaylee dismissed with a wave of her hand, linking elbows with Felix. He made sure to have an expression that said that every spot of contact was horrible, when actually he wanted to hug her and scream at her for taking so long. "I'll return him in three days." She said, dropping a little device that would transport them directly to the mansion. Harrison had been working on the device and likely made sure to have perfected it for this day to ensure the most dramatics as possible, "Hold on."

The ground was falling beneath them, and Felix found himself not in the mansion like expected, but instead in a small house of the sort that seemed to be resting on a different mountain, and the lack of snow around outside told him it was an entirely different world too. There were gadgets around, and various guns, but it was otherwise a very homey place. It was chilly, but not unbearably so, and it might have been the fact he was damn near naked that left him cold.

There were a little sitting, dining, and work area, and what seemed to be three bedrooms. The kitchen was quite nice too. He knew for a fact that there was a lab hidden somewhere around here.

"The witches will look for you at the mansion first," Kaylee explained, "We didn't tell you about this place because we weren't sure if the transporter would come here. This is mine and Jared's house, at least until your Mom and Aunt finish building the world they plan to—though this will be yours and my residence for the three days of the bargain—but Jared said you can have the guest room since he is extremely against the idea of both going to war _and_ you being in an arranged marriage."

"Thank you." He said, almost ready to cry, "I was about ready to run if you hadn't arrived when you did." He smiled, "And that was one impressive performance, I was almost convinced that was the real you." Kaylee let her hair down, looking down at the leathers,

"These things really are as impressive as told. With those minor alterations, I'm pleased with the results." She looked up at him, "And you're welcome. You're my friend, and your end of the bargain is protection and knowledge for me. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain in agreeing to this."

"I know you aren't a fan of working with magic." She shrugged,

"I didn't have to. And if it meant keeping you from being shackled to someone for the rest of your life, I can put up with it for five seconds. And I wouldn't be friends with you if I was _super_ against magic."

"That's fair." Felix said, and Kaylee narrowed her eyes at his outfit,

"Seriously though, while you look good admittedly, it's ridiculous and I want you out of it. Grab something modest, get in the shower, don't get out until that paint is off you, and get dressed." Her mouth was pursed in a thin line, "You look like the doe-eyed damsel that matron wants you to be, or maybe someone about to be sacrificed. Or both."

"Yeah, I can agree with that." He looked down at himself in disgust, "I'm going to clean myself off."

"Please do."

Felix walked into his room and immediately removed the garment the moment the door was shut and locked. He discarded the belt thing—which would probably be worth a lot to sell, he mused—and put the crown on the dresser, since getting rid of the crown would probably be an offense of some sort and he didn't want Kaylee to be any higher on Valeria's (s)hit list than she already was.

He used his power to have some pajamas made of material of his liking—and made sure it was something that covered him throughly, never wanting to be so exposed around his friend again, though he knew he would have to every. Damn. _Month—_waiting for him when he got out of the shower.

It took nearly an hour to get the paint off. He had to practically rub his skin raw to get it all off, and he had to use magic to reach some areas. Thankfully Kaylee had given him a shower big enough that his wings fit, and those wings had a wingspan of roughly seven meters.

By the time he was done getting it all off, his skin was red, he was aching, hungry, tired, and unsure why he still wanted to cry.

Once he was in a sky-blue sweater and grey sweatpants, and his hair was back to messy, he came out and was relieved Kaylee had warmed up a burger for him.

"Eat, you're probably starving. I'd cook something, but I have a feeling you miss the simpler things in life"

"I do. Thank you." he said, and Kaylee frowned,

"Have those witches brainwashed you already? You're so grateful for normal kindness."

"You saved me." He said simply, "And for that I'm eternally grateful." She shrugged,

"Yeah, well I got a message from your Dad that the matron suspects what we did and is keeping the family on watch until you are returned, so it's just you, me, and possibly Jared since it was announced that Jared was dead, but didn't specify which one, or that there are two."

"Maybe you should just stay up here all the time," Felix suggested, "So they don't find you."

"I know." Kaylee mused, "But I have a feeling I could beat them all into the ground regardless of the magic they have, seeing how easy it was to take down the guards."

"I don't think I could sleep." Felix admitted, "I…do you mind if I stay in here for a bit, even if you—"

"Do you need company? I could put on a movie. Normally I'd stargaze, but I have a suspicion the witches are going to be looking for you for a while tonight to at least finish the ceremony before the bargain begins."

"T-Thanks." Kaylee smiled and helped him to the couch since his legs were shaking,

"It's nothing. We will start with your end soon, but I feel like the first day or so should be you having time to recover from what almost happened, since it clearly took its toll on your wellbeing." Without thinking, he cuddled up next to her, beyond grateful for his savior and desperate for the feeling of someone familiar who he trusted, and Kaylee ruffled his hair,

"Come on, let's watch a movie."

**A/N: That thing I mentioned with small dogs starving themselves when stressed, yeah, that is a real thing and I learned it the hard way.**


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41: Love, a test, and Jared learning to _never_ irritate Cosmo**

"Okay Ben," Jared and Ben were getting ready for bed, with Morrigan's journal open on the nightstand, "What is so important that you need to talk to Morrigan? And I haven't seen any sign of Adam moving on."

"It's easier said than done, with how specific this is. I need Morrigan's help, and to make it coincidence enough that Liana won't suspect. I hope you're good at baseball."

"I don't really play games or sports. Why?"

"Well…Adam was from a popular baseball family. He was pretty good, but not perfect. One day, he didn't catch a fly-ball, and it cost his team the game. His parents, who had been stressing on him that he needed to be perfect since he could crawl, gave him performance-enhancing drugs."

"Did he OD?"

"No. It made him less aware since he was allergic to some of the ingredients. He died in a car crash." Jared blinked a couple of times, processing that,

"Wow. Liana was right about cars being an enemy around here."

"Oh you have no idea," Ben winked playfully, "Last things I need is for you to poke in Adam's head and see exactly how the game went, so we can tell Morrigan so that she can replicate it. For the sake of time, I'm thinking you stay on the sidelines and use telekinesis to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"I haven't started training telekinesis with Cosmo. We're currently trying to get a hold on the magical fight-or-flight. I want never to shift, which is good enough until we have the proper tools to remove the Fae form entirely, but my magic won't hesitate to do that or have me burst into flames if I'm even slightly threatened, even when I'm not."

"Well, ask to practice telekinesis with him tomorrow," Ben replied, "Because unless that magic of yours sees a baseball as a threat, you shouldn't have to worry."

"What I have to worry about is the fact Cosmo mentioned he's going to use Chiso's memories against me in the form of those trials as a test of my skills, and I know Chiso's past is the most gruesome. Liana's is a close second." He finished putting a sleep shirt on, "The only backstories I don't know are Evan and Ashina's. Do you have any ideas on Amber moving on? I already am preparing myself for torture at Liana's hands since she's inevitably going to figure out what I'm doing."

"Amber sticks to herself most of the time, so I don't know what regret she has. Evan wants to know the fate of his family after a disaster on his home world—something I can relate to—and Ashina's isn't hard, but _long_."

"Why?" Ben shrugged,

"I don't know the details, but she mentioned wanting to do many things. What's your plan for Chiso?"

"I need to learn a riddle. But that lobotomy did its job as its nowhere in Chiso's head. Just the answer, which doesn't help me too much since there are plenty of riddles with that answer."

Ben crossed his arms, "Well, first we have to learn what world Chiso is from, then maybe we can use Morrigan or Freya to find tributes who died _during_ the trials, so they remember the riddle."

"Sounds like it will take a while. Even if we get both to help."

"Yeah, best to focus on the easier ones for now. Evan's will be somewhat challenging, but we can find it while we look for Chiso's. Ashina's will take the longest, so wait for a warmer season. Amber's is unknown. Liana needs to be last because of …well…duh." He started writing in the journal, "So what is your relationship with Morrigan, exactly?"

"She's my aunt-in-law." Well, technically he and Cam weren't married. But the mating bond had clicked, and in the magical world that was worth more than marriage, so he counted it for the sake of simplicity—though if he did end up going back, there would be an actual wedding.

"Well, that comes in handy."

"It's not, seeing as she put a wyrm in my head to prevent moving on. I know it's to resurrect me or something, but I've already died once before, so I was living on borrowed time already. I've already been here, what, seven months? It feels a little late to go back now."

"I understand. But it's not like Cosmo is going to let go of a bargain like this one. You're the first person with enough power to free him; there is no way he is going to release you until your end is met."

"Sadly, I figured. Though if _I_ had been a prisoner for ten millennia, I probably wouldn't do much differently."

Ben nodded, yawning, "Agreed. Night Jared. Ask Cosmo to help you with telekinesis." With that, he was asleep.

Jared was up for a little longer, thinking before he decided to at least try seeing Adam's memories and pushed the images to Ben so he could observe and tell Morrigan. Then he got up and decided to go down to the garage for a bit since he couldn't sleep yet.

But he did not expect what he saw down there, "Hey Jared. I thought you promised to take care of Joselyn when I was gone."

Kelly.

Jared's first thought was that this had to be the Ouroboros fucking with him again since Kelly was gone, his soul had shattered, no return, no afterlife, vanished from existence.

Kelly crossed his arms, "You're not a fish, Jared." He closed his mouth.

"You… You're not Kelly. He's gone." Kelly—or the thing that looked like Kelly—then seemed to notice what was going on,

"Ah, you got lured by the Ouroboros. Truly sucks, doesn't it? And no, I'm not gone, Mor has the power to restore souls, and in return, I'm once again her champion." He raised his hand, to reveal the same mark Jared had, only there was no eye, and it was only along his hand instead of his forearm as well. "There, does that prove it to you? Illusions don't have this since only the person who Made you can grant it—and before you ask, mine isn't like yours since I am only half of what you are." Jared hesitated, taking Kelly's hand and examining it,

"How did I not know you had this?"

"Well it was usually hidden under the skin like yours was until sandpaper came along. Besides, this is the hand that got chopped off in the nonary game so that you _wouldn't_ have seen it for long, even on Blight."

"Fine, I'll believe you since you aren't trying to lure me in the direction of that damn mirror—still can't believe I need to go get that thing to get rid of my Fae half."

"You never answered the question about what the hell happened to you taking care of Joselyn? Because you've been here for months, and Joselyn is nowhere and everywhere." It was then that Jared let himself be sure this was Kelly. He was shocked still and quite relieved.

"I died to kill Kahu. And I know Joselyn is missing, is she even alive?!"

"Yes, she's alive. Going insane from what I sensed, but alive." Jared paled, and Kelly went on, "Camille is breaking more and more as her hope fades. She's isolated herself from her family—all of which are pissed at or hate you for not waiting five minutes so they could help with their respective powers in place of Totem Armor. Eli is in some weird 'Zoe Murphy' stage of grieving for you, where he hates your guts but also misses you."

"O…Oh… I didn't realize that the others working together would have worked." Kelly shrugged,

"That's what was supposed to happen according to the Book of Prophecies. That is another major reason we're trying to revive you. If Joselyn goes insane …let's say that the only thing worse than that would be _me_ going nuts."

"Have you seriously just come to lecture me?" Jared found himself asking, "Because if your goal is making me feel terrible than you're doing a pretty good job of it."

"Well, that wasn't my intended purpose, but I'm glad to hear it." Kelly sat on a table, "No, I was sent here by Mor because you needed some help and she's busy trying to handle something about arranged marriages and bargains—she refuses to tell me details."

Jared then remembered Ben had been writing in the journal, "Oh yeah. There are two things I need. The riddle Chiso had to solve—you can find that by locating former tributes—and the fate of Evan's family."

"Surnames?"

"No clue. Chiso doesn't know his, and Evan never brought it up, and I haven't bothered to poke in his head for something so minor. Can't you look them up in the system?" Kelly nodded,

"I can. I just wanted to see how much you knew. Try to figure out more things about them, so it doesn't look like you're just spewing random info for that exact purpose." He started to fade, but Jared grabbed his hand again,

"Do they really hate me?" He prayed that they didn't hate him. No matter the shields he put up, he had seen the Sommers family almost like his own family. He and Eli became friends in the dark realm, and Harrison and Amelia treated him like their own son. He was already unsure about going back, but why even think about it if there was nothing for him?

Kelly hesitated, "They don't hate _you_, Jared. They hate your actions and what they've done to Camille, who they cherish, and after time passed and Cam slipped further away, those actions started to define you in their memories."

"You don't seem bitter about anything except Joselyn, but her spark's ignited, which means there isn't anything I can do."

"That's why I'm not pissed too much. And I know the power of rage boner." Jared was not entirely sure he wanted to know a time where Kelly had gotten as angry if not angrier than he himself had with Kahu. "It's when Zoe got shot at age eight. Because I don't like prying into the minds of people I care about, I didn't check the facts and just went with what she said about muggers. I hunted down any mugger in the area, and unleashed the wyrm upon them all."

"And if she had died?"

"Let's just say the wyrm would be considered mercy." Just imagining the horrors a person who dared harm or kill Zoe would face, he felt a little queasy and was relieved he had only seen Kelly have a mental breakdown due to illness when he punched her. And what could be worse than the wyrm? He didn't want to know. Not at all.

"I need to see her. Cam." He suddenly demanded, feeling a pull he didn't understand. Maybe it was because he finally had a ticket out of here, "She crossed over to me multiple times, there has to be a way I can do the same for her." Kelly hesitated,

"Are you sure you want to do that? You won't like what you see—"

"Do you think I care?" Kelly shrugged,

"Mor gave me the order to assist you, and I had enough coffee to be in a good mood."

"Okay, be honest, did you seriously give yourself a coffee addiction so you could piss off Kahu in thirty years?"

Kelly laughed, "Not just Kahu, but any other fucker who decided to possess me. So much power flows through me, but there is the defense called withdrawal. And my body only accepts black coffee, which is just extra salt on the wound for those who don't like it that way." He held out a hand, "Come on, let's go check on your mate."

Jared didn't know what to expect when he found himself as a ghost in the land of the living. He had a feeling Cam wasn't doing great from what Kelly said, but _this,_

He felt the real power of the bond slip into place when he entered the living realm and found himself running to her side, "Camille!" She was laying on the floor of some crappy apartment, curled in a ball, sobbing, clutching her head. He tried to do something, anything, like every part of his body was screaming at him to do. But he couldn't do anything; he was just a damn ghost. He couldn't do anything.

Then he got an idea. Possession might work. He looked to Kelly,

"What's happening to her?!" Kelly was, to Jared's horror, devastated as shown by his navy eyes.

"She's dying."

"_DYING_?!" He looked at her, searching for any injury, "Is she sick? Go get help!"

"Can't. My soul is still too damaged to possess my own vessel. As to what's going on, it's heartbreak—which yes, can kill you. Heartbreak can lead to appetite changes, lack of motivation, weight loss or weight gain, overeating, headaches, stomach pain, a general sense of being unwell, depression, anxiety, and withdrawal from friends, family, and usual activities. It looks like she's finally snapped and broken heart syndrome came in. The blood pumping in and out of your heart became temporarily disrupted by a surge of stress hormones. The contraction in the heart may be more than just a flicker of elevated blood pulsing through a valve, though; it may actually kill."

What have I done…?

And then he was running and didn't care who the first random stranger was, killing them with his mind powers without hesitation and possessing the body. According to Cosmo, Jared and the Lich could exist side by side for a brief period, if Jared had a vessel. So he was using this vessel to save her.

Kelly was still standing off to the side since he actually couldn't do anything about this.

Jared ran back in and picked Camille up, and she had stopped crying, stopped moving.

"Cam, _please_, don't die." While them both being dead would give them a chance to be together, he had wanted her to live, and the guilt was eating him alive knowing he could be the cause of her death.

He didn't know what world this was, or if the rest of the family was here, so he started screaming for help and the direction of the nearest hospital or healer or something-_anything_.

It took longer than he would have liked to find a healer and recognized her as Cherokee—the young Fae healer of Galowen. What was she doing here?

Cherokee took Camille from his arms and set her down on a bed, already getting to work on giving her rather aggressive treatments, such as blood pressure medication and breathing machines.

Then Jared saw why Cherokee was here. Viirus came in,

"Cherokee?" He froze at the sight of Camille, "Camille?!" He frowned in the direction of Jared's vessel, "Who are you?"

"I…" Did he tell the truth? He could already feel himself being pulled back to the afterlife, estimating maybe five more minutes. Fortunately, Cherokee answered,

"She brought Camille in." She? Oh, his vessel must be female. He looked down. Yup, female.

Viirus nodded his thanks, "Thank you for bringing her in." Jared shrugged,

"Does she mean something to you?" Viirus looked to where the young healer was treating Camille,

"She's my best friend's mate. Even if he's …not around anymore…he would still be devastated if something happened to her." Jared looked down at Camille's sleeping form, a frown marring her features where there used to be a dreamy smile. Viirus also noticed this, "I've heard stories, of what happens when someone loses their mate. I never imagined it would be this bad."

Jared felt himself slipping away fast, but he had to ask, "Why are you staying with Cherokee?" Viirus hesitated in a way that worried him before he replied reluctantly,

"The Tragedy…was tough." Jared knew there was more to the story but also knew Viirus wouldn't tell a stranger the full truth.

Cherokee turned, "With my magic assisting her, and a few weeks of bed-rest and taking proper medications, she will live. But had you been ten minutes later, she would be gone."

That was all Jared needed to hear before slipping back into the afterlife, where he was back in the garage, shell-shocked, with Kelly staring at him with intense sapphire orbs.

"You knew!" Jared croaked out, "You knew she was dying!"

"Of course I did, Jared!" Kelly snapped, "No matter how much she pushes away her family, who desperately wants to help her, a mind mage can see all. I made a promise to Amelia to protect her, and do you really think being dead will stop me when she truly needs it? No. And since I'm not healed enough to do it, you had to." He then frowned when he noticed the tears spilling down Jared's cheeks, "Let me guess, the bond truly clicked into place, and now you are feeling heartbroken and have guilt eating you alive."

Jared fell to his knees, no longer able to support himself, "I…I almost killed her." Kelly softened, crouching down and hugged him. No matter how he would never do this regularly, he just really needed a hug right now. Everyone had those moments. Damn emotions being more active.

"It's not your fault. You made a mistake, but you're human or close enough to human. We all make mistakes. And it's not too late to fix this mistake. Go back to them, find Joselyn. I'll do what I can to help while you're here."

Jared looked up, noticing the fatherly look in Kelly's eyes, "I-I'm glad you aren't truly gone."

Kelly ruffled Jared's hair, "Me too."

OoOoO

Jared woke up in the garage in a pile of blankets and pillows. He sighed. He'd likely fallen asleep, and Kelly hadn't been able to carry him, so he made do.

The sun was starting to come up. Crap! He'd be late for training with Cosmo!

He sprinted to the clearing, growling as he felt the shift again. It was annoying, and he hated it, but he had had a rough night and didn't want to think about what Cosmo would do if he were late—Cosmo had a tendency to threaten him if he fucked up, and leave what that punishment would be to the imagination, and Jared really didn't want to know.

Cosmo was waiting, sitting in a tree, "You're late."

Fuck.

"Sorry. I had a rough night." Cosmo looked him over, still perched in his tree,

"You look like you've either seen a ghost or just had your heart ripped out of your chest. Or both."

"Yeah, both." Cosmo hopped down from the tree,

"Well, Ben said you need to master telekinesis. Which comes in handy for me. After all, you were late and wasted an hour of my time. I told you there would be punishment for that, and I am a being of my word."

"Oh, fuck you! You think making me even more miserable is going to achieve anything?"

"Don't waste my time. But this would be your assignment anyway. And if it's not done by dinner tonight," Cosmo chuckled darkly, "You won't like it."

One hour later

Jared tried not to think about last night as he scrubbed the floors of the hallway. Yup, Cosmo's task for him was to clean every building in the entire 2.5 square mile campus, except the dorm room because he wasn't _that_ cruel. Though there was something about lentils in a fireplace that he wasn't excited for.

_"Get to work, Cinderella." _Cosmo had said, giving him a bucket full of sudsy water, and multiple cloths and sponges, and this was after Jared had basically changed into rags since that was the only thing that he could burn instead of going through the pain in the ass of cleaning it.

It had been an hour, and already his back ached like fire. He swore under his breath as he continued scrubbing the floor, the coarse bristles of the brush crinkling against the tiles.

_"Use your rage to master your power."_ Another tip and it was quite helpful since the kitchen down the hall was being cleaned by his telekinesis alone while he worked on the floors.

He continued to scrub the floor until his hands throbbed, and when that was done, he went into the cafeteria to work. He sighed, looking at the mess the NPCs had left. He had whole new respect for servants. He was pretty sure he would eat dinner and then pass out.

Though he did have to admit Cosmo infuriating him had helped distract from the realization that he'd quite literally broken Camille's heart. Or the pain of being away from her—when he asked about it, Cosmo muttered that it had been his desperate desire for there not being a bond before death that prevented him from feeling the separation pain, but now he felt it and left him feeling empty and quite miserable. Or maybe that was the pain in his entire body from cleaning a school.

And he wasn't even a third of the way done.

A door clicked open a little bit down the hall, but he ignored it, assuming it was just Cosmo.

"You know, when Cosmo said you were cleaning the school, I didn't think he was serious." He turned and saw Liana standing there, smiling pitifully, "What did you do to piss him off?"

"Fail at sleeping all night and then accidentally fall asleep, leaving me an hour late for training." Liana crossed her arms,

"Normally, it takes more to annoy him. Maybe he's just getting impatient, like how you can tough it out until you know it will be over soon, and then you grow exhausted." She looked out at the snow melting outside, opening the window and using her water powers to bring more water in, "I'll help you. You'll burn out if you rely only on your strength and telekinesis. Maybe with more experience, you could, but not right now."

"I thought the leader was above this kind of slave-work." Liana rolled her eyes,

"Well good thing I am only the leader of more teens, and you are not a slave. I mean—if you put your mind to it, you could probably call small animals to your aid, and then you'd truly be Cinderella, assuming your friend last night is the Fairy Godmother."

"You saw that?"

"Didn't hear anything. I thought that man had obliterated you. I was scared, but then he came back and stayed until you cried yourself to sleep. He was starting to fade, claiming to have pushed himself too far, and I brought the pillows and added a little sleep charm since you having a nightmare. So I guess Cosmo's foul mood is more my fault, so I should help you out, and get you a day to sleep tomorrow."

"Thanks for the day off offer, but I need all the busy work I can get. Once I get some sleep tonight, I will start working myself into exhaustion."

"That's not healthy."

"Neither is burying all your feelings and not letting people know how you sincerely feel about life, yet here you are." He then realized that his tiredness had made him potentially screw himself over with helping the others move on.

But to his relief, Liana shrugged, "Cosmo got you in my head? Damn him. But there's just nothing to tell."

"Do you regret anything in life?" He asked, wiping down a table. The work was already going much faster with someone to help him out. Liana had discarded her skirt and scarf, leaving her in leggings and a formal white shirt. She slipped on an apron as she worked, and put her hair in a ponytail—something Jared had done within minutes of starting these chores.

"I have many regrets." She admitted, "I can't do anything about it here, except try."

"Oh?"

"I wish I had been able to save my siblings." She said quietly, "I wish I were able to save people, help them, so nobody suffered as I did. That's why I want to get rid of Morrigan, to take this land for myself and help all who end up here. We may not have a perfect existence, but we have fun and make close friends who won't abandon us. Cosmo's been here with me since the beginning, and I was relieved horribly, that I wasn't the only one who hated the system, hated whoever managed our lives. Cosmo's been haunted by some god called Cradh since he was young."

"I know." Jared muttered, "Last night, my daughter's biological father came to visit me—oddly enough, he died the same day I did—and he told me that he was in Morrigan's good graces, and took me to see my still-living mate. She was dying from a broken heart. I had to kill someone and possess their body to save her. Then I learned my daughter had been missing for months, nobody could find her, but she is slowly going insane."

"Damn." Liana muttered, "How'd you really die?"

"Sacrificed myself to kill a monster." Out of nowhere, she burst out laughing. Jared frowned, "What?" She continued laughing.

"I…It's just… don't you remember what you said to me when you had only half of your memory back when I checked on you during your walk?"

_"You didn't seem to have a great life."_

_"Well, what did you fucking expect?! No, I lived into my adulthood, married a hot supermodel, had a beautiful child, was rich as hell, and then I died a heroic death—wait no, I'm still in my high school form, which means that DIDN'T HAPPEN!"_

Jared too laughed, "Oh, how right I was." She giggled,

"Yeah." She looked in the kitchen that was being cleaned with telekinesis, "Should we move on to HQ?"

"Sure." They made their way to HQ, and Jared swore when he saw the lentils in the fireplace. _Damn you, Cosmo._

"Well…sorting lentils out of ashes can't be as bad as it says in movies." Liana mused. Jared looked to her,

"If I get tortured by Cosmo because of your confidence, I'm gonna kick the shit out of you." She shrugged,

"Right. I suppose I could use the fact I'm his…ehem…partner… to my advantage to spare you."

"Is it lust or love? From what I've seen, it's the latter." She froze at the bluntness of the question as Jared went about cleaning the rest of the room and leaving the lentils for last.

"I… don't know. He's easily my best friend around here. But I have long since forgotten what love is. You're lucky, Jared. No matter how painful it is, at least you feel something other than regret and anger. I know Cos, and I chose to…do things together…because we were both angry at the world, and only the other understood."

"Mutual hatred is a good way to bond." He said simply, "First thing myself and my mate did was murder a dragon together—beat the son of a bitch into a pulp. That's after she saved my ass." He didn't realize he had a faraway look in his eyes until Liana smiled, organizing her desk,

"You love her."

"More than anything—though I suppose that's the point since she's my mate. If I had known my death would hurt her as bad as it has…I would have changed some things. I expected her to feel _something_, but I didn't think it could destroy her as it did."

"And your daughter?"

"She's already had a tough life. Hate to make it worse, since she lost both of her dads in one go. The step-father was abusive, and mother was possessed or something like that. She is Ben's stepsister, so that gives you an idea of what she went through."

"Oh shit." She muttered, "Poor kid. Were you and her biological dad co-parenting or something?"

"It's complicated. Kelly joked about that at one point, but he has two other daughters, and I just…understood Joselyn better than he could. I tolerated her because she liked my music, but when she lost one of her big sisters, and her dad went to Tibet to try bringing her back, I took care of Joselyn. Had things been different, we probably would have ended up co-parenting."

They both turned back to the lentils in the fireplace. Liana exchanged a look with Jared,

"So..." she frowned, "do you know enough telekinesis to not make a complete mess while doing that?"

"I think so?" It was more a question than a statement, knowing there would only be more cleaning to come of this. And there was the problem of him not knowing enough about the little things to identify them all among the ash.

Then he got an idea. His magic was extremely trigger-happy when danger was involved, and whatever horrors Cosmo had planned as punishment would obviously be enough. He took a moment to imagine what Cosmo could have in store, and suddenly all the lentils were in a bucket.

"Nice!" Liana pumped her fist, "How much have you already gotten done? It's roughly three, so dinner is in five hours."

"Fuck. I'm not even a third of the way done, and I've been working since six this morning. Fortunately, I don't have to do dorm rooms." Liana's eyes widened,

"So you seriously have to clean this whole place. There is no way one hour pissed Cosmo off that much."

"I don't know, and I don't want to know." Liana shrugged,

"I'll ask him tonight. But come on, might as well get halfway done to give you a fighting chance."

"Thanks, Liana. I'm pretty sure I'd be screwed without your help."

OoOoO

Even with Liana's help, Jared was still screwed.

It turned out this task was knowingly impossible, but Cosmo was trying to see what he was working with as a start of telekinesis. Still, there was that one hour that Cosmo was bitter about, so that gave the ancient being even more ideas of torture.

And so, until Adam moved on, Jared had no choice but to be the singular servant around here, and now had to work bedrooms and laundry. No more help from Liana. This was apparently the telekinesis training since that wasn't a skill that could be simply taught, instead mastered through trial and error.

The downside was that this left him exhausted after a long day of endless chores, and had no time to help find that riddle to get Chiso out of here.

He was relieved that he was only in charge of cleaning the bedrooms of fellow Resistance members. He was sure he would fall into a coma due to exhaustion alone if he had to handle the hundreds of NPCs scattered about. But that only spared him from the bedrooms, the rest of the campus was still in need of being cleaned.

Jared was humming quietly, still trying not to think about Camille, and trying to figure out how to do laundry. There was no washing machine around here, and Safiya and Miles had been the ones in charge of this before.

He managed to use the bathtub in Miles's old barn to clean the clothes, but now to dry them, how could he do that?

"Use a drying rack." Jared turned and saw Chiso standing in the doorway, holding a plate, "I brought you lunch." It was a simple pizza, but Jared hadn't eaten breakfast, so this was awesome. He dug in within moments of getting his hands dried off.

"Thank you." Chiso nodded,

"I know the feeling, to be worked to the bone without food, with only threats as motivation. I know for you it's training to handle telekinesis and your magic's fight-or-flight, but it hits home for me."

"I thought you were locked up or doing those trials." Chiso nodded,

"Yeah, but the queen needed a weak or two to prepare each trial, so I was used as a slave. If I messed anything up, I would be the evening's entertainment, which meant being tortured and humiliated. Obviously, I learned the ropes pretty quickly."

"Damn. I'm sorry, Chiso." Chiso shrugged,

"It's okay. And sorry I was reticent when we first met, I get like that with the new people. Force of habit, I guess."

"I understand," Jared assured, "my daughter was like that. But aren't you going to get in trouble for helping me?"

"No. Cosmo understands why this would hit a sore spot for me. Here," he drained the bathtub which was full of sudsy water, then filling it with lukewarm water, getting the soap out of the clothes, "Besides, you can't use telekinesis if you don't know what you're doing."

Jared felt terrible for what he was about to ask, but he had to know if he was going to help Chiso, "If you were treated so horribly by your father and stepbrothers, and your mother was treated equally badly, why did you give your life trying to save your people?" Chiso hesitated,

"Cosmo told you about my past?" At the nod, he shrugged, "He and Liana hid it for ten years, so I'm not surprised he told someone eventually. To answer your question, I did it out of spite at first. Queen Desdemona is a callous person and saw me as nothing more than a weak little toy who would only be good for a week or two before breaking. But I had already lived through hell, so I wanted to prove myself. And if I won, there was no way in seven shades of hell that my father would continue to treat me like shit."

"Wouldn't that have removed his power if he was her ally?"

"That's kind of the point." Chiso handed him a pair of jeans to get the soap out of as they talked, "With each trial, I had my hope to guide me, getting brighter with each one. But then the final trial came, where I had to kill two innocents and my mother. The first two had been tortured so badly that I like to convince myself it was a mercy kill. But if my mother hadn't begged me to kill her, to save the people she cared for dearly, I would have done it and shoved the dagger into my own heart." He sighed, "I thought it was over then...but the queen had used a play on words against me, and only the riddle meant immediate freedom. At that moment, looking at the corpse of my mother at my feet, I solved it. But then I got two needles through my skull and into my brain. I died with all my hope gone, no longer remembering the riddle, but still, I tried to say the answer, and she snapped my neck without any effort. I woke up here after that, and couldn't get out of bed nor let anyone touch me for weeks before confiding in Liana about what happened."

"You know Chiso, I think you might be the strongest person I know, and that's saying quite a lot. Thirteen years old and having that burden. If _I_ had to kill my mother, I would lose it." Chiso smiled a little, and it didn't reach his eyes,

"I feel better when I talk about it. But I fear judgment for what I did."

"You won't get any out of me. I've killed many and still manage to sleep at night." That got a chuckle out of the youth, and Jared realized that Chiso had died at the same age Joselyn was currently. His blood ran cold.

Chiso looked up at him, "That's why I'm confiding in you."

It didn't take long to finish the laundry with Chiso's help, who assisted in cleaning the warehouses and the bedrooms while Jared took the primary levels.

"So is my little scheme working?" Jared turned and saw Cosmo leaning in the doorway. They exchanged glares, and he gave Cosmo the finger, "Hey, that's not what you say to the one doing you a solid, using the empathy of the others to your advantage so you can learn more about them while they help you with these impossible tasks. Evan has purposefully been avoiding the use of too many dishes to not overwork you."

"You're just pissed about me being an hour late_ three days ago!_" Cosmo waved it off,

"It actually didn't bother me either, since I was dealing with some creatures who escaped Freya's domain while she was busy helping _you _or keeping tabs on the Fae kingdom. This is why she needs someone else to take the throne. She doesn't know they're out and I've decided those things will be your first test."

"So you mean to tell me you've been giving me shit when you were late too?!"

"I had to come up with some excuse for this plan to work, now didn't I?"

"You're lucky the bargain prevents me from hurting you," Jared growled, looking down at his blistered hands, "The kitchen is cleaning itself with telekinesis, and all the bedrooms in the girl's dorms are the same since I don't want to go in there. Toilets as well, but I still clean the showers, and some are nasty."

"Well at least now, when you go back, you will know how to clean the house." He got a middle finger in the face as a response. "Now I don't think I deserved that. Should I put you on dish duty permanently?" A dirty sponge got thrown at him, "I may have deserved that, though."

OoOoO

Jared worked all through the night, still trying to distract himself from what he had seen of Camille. He was drained, but he didn't care. Every sleeping moment was plagued with 'what if' moments. What if he hadn't asked to see her. Or had been too late. Or had gone to sleep same time as Ben. She would be dead, and he would have that guilt on his shoulders forever, that every moment he had with her in the afterlife would be his fault, he might as well have killed her with his own hands.

He was in HQ, midnight had long since passed, roughly three in the morning now. It had been a week since the chores had started, and he finally finished cleaning the entire campus. Everyone was asleep, and Jared was so tired that he could barely function, telekinesis having done most of the work the last few hours.

He didn't have the energy to walk to his dorm, shower, knowing he would pass out. He didn't want to sleep but knew he was on the brink of a shutdown.

Without thinking, he curled up at the foot of the fireplace, letting the dying embers and still-hot coals keep him warm. It was early spring, but still cold enough that warmth was required.

To his relief, he had exhausted himself so much that he either didn't dream or didn't remember it.

He woke up and found he had been covered in a blanket and had a pillow under his head. The sun was well in the sky, roughly noon.

"Did you get a nice sleep?" Jared turned and saw Ben sitting on the couch, "Cosmo told me to tell you that you are free from being a servant. The baseball game's tonight. We were looking for you this morning since you didn't come to bed last night, and when we found you in here, we decided to leave you be." Ben turned to the microwave, where there was a plate with eggs and bacon, "Here's breakfast."

Jared went to eat the food when he noticed his hands were covered in soot. Looking in the mirror, his face and hair were too. His hair was actually close to brown again.

"I recommend showering to get the soot off, or the Cinderella nickname will last forever." Just the idea of that had Jared's wings ripping out of his back, and he was leaping off the balcony to fly to his dorm, where it took him nearly twenty minutes to get all the soot and grime off. Then he held the rags he had worn all week in his hands, before setting them aflame.

OoOoO

The baseball game went well, Adam was gone. And Morrigan came to give Jared an update on Kelly's progress. Evan's family had gotten out of the incident on his home world, though his father died not long after. Jared wasn't given any details, and with the backstory of everyone here, he wasn't sure he wanted to. All he knew was that Evan's home world was called Radiant Garden. He decided to wait until one of the last for Evan since nobody else could cook.

He flew to the clearing the next morning after eating a quick breakfast. When he got there, Cosmo was nowhere to be found, but the creeping feeling up his spine told him the fucker was here somewhere about to at least try getting the drop on him.

Without looking or shifting, Jared whirled around and very nearly smacked Cosmo in the face, only for him to dodge.

This led to a brief sparring match in which Jared let his fury at the nightmare of last week take form as enhanced combat skills to punch Cosmo in the face. Even without his Fae form, he was still a capable fighter and had enhanced speed, agility and such. Then Cosmo decided to show a little of his power, triggering fight-or-flight in Jared's magic caused him to explode into flames.

Cosmo gave a tolerant sigh, "Put it out, Jared." Doing this meant Jared was supposed to relax—which wasn't something he was great at since the last sixteen years of his existence had been either traumatic, lonely, or had danger at every turn. Cosmo tended to forcefully sedate him with the pixie wine if this took longer than an hour. The flames didn't hurt, but they did spread like wildfire and could destroy minds. This was why he and Cosmo had spent the first few days practicing meditation and breathing exercises.

It was about five minutes before the flames went out.

"Better," Cosmo gave an approving inclination, "You're ready."

"For?"

"Your test. Tonight. Because this is true, genuine danger I am putting you in, I'm going to join you for this test when you need me. This will be working on testing telekinesis, enhanced abilities, fight-or-flight, basic problem solving, and optionally your fire."

Jared crossed his arms, "Okay. What exactly are we fighting?" At Cosmo's expression, he narrowed his eyes, "Tell me. _Now_."

Cosmo shrugged, "I don't know exactly. I just asked Freya for the most dangerous thing she's got. All I know is that they skin their victims, hunt in packs of nine-but I only asked for three-and nobody has lived to describe or name them, which got them the name The Nameless."

The malicious glare Jared gave him could have terrified Zoe at her worst, sanity-wise. Then he deadpanned, "Well, fuck you too."

"I think that's basically our relationship summed up." Cosmo mused, pulling out a long knife, "Now show me what you can do."

OoOoO

The citrine fire glowed and crackled in Jared's palm as he walked through the forest that night. The same woods he had wandered into with not-Joselyn.

_"Jared,"_ a voice in the wind called, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, _"Jared, come to me."_

The forest had gone eerily quiet, and Jared felt the feeling of eyes drilling into the back of his skull. Not a sound to be heard, and Jared wasn't sure if that was good or bad. The crescent moon was providing a little light when it wasn't hidden by the canopy of trees.

Then he smelled something. A small part of him wanted to shift to identify the smell, but he shook it off since that was his Fae side trying to butt in. He eventually identified it as the smell of leather and carrion.

The silence deepened, but Jared could swear he heard some sort of scream. It took a lot to frighten him, his magic was already wanting to flee, but he wasn't too bothered other than slightly unsettled. What Cosmo had said about these things worried him, Nameless Cosmo had claimed, and that meant Jared had no idea what to look for. Though he was only up against a third of a pack, so he found comfort in that.

His only weapon other than his powers was a simple sword which he doubted would make a dent.

Jared slipped deeper into the drenched forest, letting his enhanced senses pick up on rocks and logs before he could trip into them. He kept moving and away from the path; his gut was telling him the road would only lead to an ambush.

Deciding to test something, he ignited a log with his flames and quickly but quietly made a break for it, hiding behind a tree. He waited, and then lightning flashed.

Three tall, lanky silhouettes lurked in front of the log.

Though they stood like humans, he knew deep within him that they were not. The pointed ears assisted in that idea.

With expert quiet, he took another step, then another, trying to find Cosmo. The three figures stood at least ten feet tall, neither male nor female.

Nightmares made flesh, that was what those things were. Despite years of stealth training, each step felt like a snap, his breathing too loud.

Thunder grumbled, and Jared used the cover of the sound to take a few bounding steps. He stopped behind another tree, breathing as quietly as he could, and peered to survey the creatures. Lightning flashed again.

The three figures were gone. But the leathery, rancid smell swarmed all around him now. Human skins.

Jared eyed the tree he'd ducked behind. The trunk was too slick with moss and rain to climb, the branches too high, and that's assuming it would support his weight. Though, having seen the wings on those things, a leathery texture they had, almost like they were made of human skin, would make climbing not matter. And what good was being stuck in a tree during a storm?

He darted to the next tree, carefully avoiding any sticks or leaves, cursing silently at the slowness of his pace, and—damn it all to hell—broke into a sprint, the mossy earth treacherous underfoot. He could make out the trees and larger rocks, but the slope was steep. He kept his feet under him, even as undergrowth cracked behind, faster and faster.

That was a reason he found having white hair to be irritating. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the dark environment, making it easy to spot him. He slipped the hood of his brown cloak on to hide it better.

He didn't dare take his focus off the trees and rocks as he hurtled down the slope, desperate for flat ground. He would have to work on that shifting of his wings because currently, they were bright green and glowed a little. Again, not helpful.

Cosmo hadn't told him what the goal of this test was, claiming to just see where things go until about dawn. Maybe these things were nocturnal? Jared was pretty sure he could avoid them until morning, their hunting territory had to end somewhere. If he was supposed to kill them...well...he didn't want to think about that since one of those things looked able to overpower him with the sword-like claws alone.

Jared veered eastward, still going downhill, and grabbed onto a trunk to swing himself around, almost losing balance as he slammed into something. He slashed at whatever it was, only to be seized by two firm hands.

His wrists felt like they were going to snap from the pressure being put on them, and he forced his attacker back, only to notice Cosmo's eyes glowing in the darkness around them. Oh, it was just Cosmo. No matter his thoughts about the ancient creature in a human body, he knew the bargain ensured his safety. Not that it mattered since he just wanted to move on, but still.

Cosmo pressed the two of them into a hollowed-out tree. Jared kept his panting quiet, but breathing didn't become any easier when Cosmo gripped his wrists even tighter and put his mouth top Jared's ear. The crashing footsteps had stopped.

"You are going to listen to every word I say." Cosmo's voice was softer than the rain outside, but still brooked no argument, "Or else you will suffer a fate worse than death tonight. Do you understand? I've faced these things before, and believe me when I say you don't want to know what they will do if they catch you. Skinning is the least of it."

Jared nodded, and Cosmo let go, only to pull out a wicked-looking hatchet. "Your fate is entirely your own." The smell was growing again, "Either shift or dive into your power and run. Otherwise, mortal slowness will be your downfall."

Jared stiffened, reaching into his magic and feeling the enhancements. A small part of him wondered if he added the upgrades to the Fae form, but he didn't want to test it out.

A slow, shrieking sound of stone on metal sounded through the rain. Then another. And another. Those things were sharpening their claws. "Can you..."

"They don't breathe, so I have no airways to cut off," Cosmo answered, knowing what Jared was going to ask. "I made sure that fire of yours spread in a different direction, but that didn't distract them for long."

Once the enhancements were complete, Jared needed to throw a hand over his mouth and nose to stop himself from retching. The festering smell of those things was putrid.

"Tap into their minds to see what's going on." Cosmo whispered, "They communicate telepathically since they don't breathe, and therefore can't speak." Jared obeyed and was disturbed by the serpentine voices of those creatures, managing to simultaneously sound like nails on a chalkboard.

"There are two of them now," one hissed, "A new creature joined the male." Male. Not a man. Damnit, they thought he was Fae. "The male we'll bring with us, dawn's too close. Then we can take time peeling him apart."

Cosmo had also been listening, and paled a little, "Okay, Jared, listen. There is a swift river a half-mile east, at the bottom of a cliff." He didn't look at Jared as he pulled out two long daggers, giving them to his companion, who gripped the ivory hilts. "When I say run, you run like hell. Step where I step, and don't turn around for any reason. If we are separated, run straight until you hear the river." Cosmo peered out of the tree, "If they catch you, you cannot kill them-at least not to my knowledge, and certainly not with a mortal weapon. Your best option is to use telekinesis to get free and then run. Understand?"

Jared nodded, and Cosmo gripped his hatchet firmly.

"On my mark," he said, sensing things even Jared couldn't, seeing miles ahead when that shouldn't be possible, "Steady..." Jared sank onto his haunches and Cosmo did the same.

"I know you can hear us," one Nameless said through telekinesis, "Come out, come out," Jared could tell it was so close it could be in the tree with them. There was a sudden rustling in the bush to the west, almost as if two people were running. Instantly, the Nameless darted off in that direction. Jared knew Cosmo was to thank for that sudden noise, using wind manipulation.

"Now." Cosmo hissed and burst out of the tree.

Jared ran or tried to. Even with his sharpened vision, the brush and stones and trees proved a hindrance. Cosmo raced towards the rising roar of the river, swollen from early-spring rains, his pace slower than expected. He was slowing for Jared.

Jared slipped, feeling his tibia snap. He yelped, and Cosmo whirled around, helping him up, "Faster," he ordered,

"I can't." Jared looked down at his leg, which had a bone sticking out. It was like the injury he had in life, only it hadn't healed in any way. Cosmo cursed, and they both know Jared was too heavy to carry.

The Nameless were coming up fast, and Jared had an idea, using telekinesis as a stabilizer for his leg. Cosmo brightened, and they got running again, shooting through the trees like mountain cats.

Regardless, it took all of a minute before the snapping of bushes closed in, but Jared didn't take his eyes off Cosmo, or the light becoming more evident as the river got closer, the end of the tree-line. Not much farther before they could jump or fly, and-

A fourth Nameless leaped out from where it had hidden undetected in the bushes. It lunged for Cosmo in a flash of long leathery limbs marred with countless scars. No. Not scars. _Stitches_. The stitches holding its various pelts together.

Jared shouted to warn Cosmo, but Liana came charging out of nowhere, not even faltering a step as she ducked and twirled with inhuman speed, slashing down with a knife and viciously slicing with a hatchet identical to Cosmo's. While it didn't do anything more than removing an arm, this gave Liana enough time to use a sword to run it through and use Fae speed to tie it up to the tree.

"This way!" She called, wearing her usual schoolgirl uniform, pulling out a machine gun from where it had been strapped to her back, shooting another Nameless in the distance.

Jared might have marveled at the way she had just moved, but in that entire time after tying up the Nameless, she hadn't stopped running towards the river. Yes, she shot something without looking. Jared and Cosmo both raced after her, neither questioning her presence at the moment.

The two unhindered Nameless were still closing in from behind, shrieking with rage. Then fell silent, until—

"You think the river can save you, Daemati?" one of them taunted in Jared's head, letting out a laugh that raked along his bones, "You think if we get wet, we'll lose our form. I have worn the skin of fish, and this is merely what you would call clothing."

Jared saw Liana and Cosmo jump across the river in a singular bound, but Jared knew these things would jump after them, and they might get carried to the school even if they fell in. He looked down at the cliff, and then to his broken leg. It was risky, but he had an idea to kill these things.

His magic got the hint and was ready to assist. Cosmo said no mortal weapon could kill them, simply injure. But what about immortal weapons like psychic fire to tear them apart and destroy their minds?

Cosmo and Liana were shouting at him, but only Cosmo seemed to notice what was going on. Liana was firing bullets like no tomorrow.

The Nameless stopped in front of him, and both had grins he knew would haunt his nightmares. The lack of eyes was off putting in a sense, and the swords they called claws. One went to approach you,

"Are you some sort of hero?" It asked, "Sacrificing yourself for your friends?" It went to reach for him, "You will be an excellent little thing. I can see _many_ uses for you other than your skin." Jared growled, before free-falling off the edge.

As he plummeted, he twisted to face the cliff, to face them. They were no more than two lean bodies in the rainy night, shrieking in his head with triumphant and anticipated pleasure.

"_Shift_!" Was the only warning he gave Cosmo. There was a flash of light to tell Jared he'd obeyed and was protecting Liana.

Then Jared ripped every ounce of magic from inside him, ripped it out with both hands and his entire raging soul.

As he fell, hair whipping his hair, he thrust his hands towards the Nameless.

"Surprise," he said smugly, and the clearing erupted with citrine wildfire.

Jared watched as the Nameless were torn to pieces, then he crashed into the river. For a moment, he cursed himself a little for not remembering at that moment he had wings, because falling from that height made the impact into the water hurt like a bitch, especially with his broken leg.

He could swim just fine, especially once he felt his leg healing over.

Then he didn't feel any legs at all. Jared looked down and saw a green fishtail. _You've got to be kidding me._

He had put up with this when he assumed Kelly was to blame like most things were, but knowing that he was a goddamn mermaid alongside all the other shit made him lose his chill a bit.

He managed to swim his way to the riverbank, and sat next to the water, glaring darkly at the tail, which glistened in the dawn light.

What does one do in this situation? Last time, Kelly had been able to reverse him back to normal, so he had no idea how to fix it on his own. And it wasn't like his legs became a tail every time he got wet. The only thing in common with this time and that time was the fact he had the possibility of drowning. Maybe it was a defense against drowning?

He knew drying out wouldn't be smart. While it could be the key to getting his legs back, it could also be unnecessary torture to wait that long only to die of dehydration.

The chances of Liana and Cosmo finding him here were slim. He had to have traveled at least a half-mile with the current. Judging by the sun, he might be able to make it to the school if he kept following the river.

Without thinking, he summoned his wings. The crystalline material made it, so it didn't matter if they got wet. Hopefully, they'd still function.

Jared wondered what his existence had come to. Trapped in an unbreakable bond; currently, a merman with wings who has crazy psychic powers and white hair; and once upon a time, he was just a normal kid with a good life.

He glared at the tattoo on his hand, at the eye on his palm that he could swear he saw blink. He usually kept a glove over it, but it must have fallen off in the river.

"You know, Freya, you could've given me a heads up about me being some sort of magical melting pot."

Freya appeared, "You never asked."

"I didn't think that was something I had to worry about!" He snapped, holding out the eye on his palm, "Now that you're here, get rid of this! I refuse to have you spying on me!" Freya examined the eye,

"Oh...sorry about that. I assumed keeping it under your skin would remove the spying power. Now that it's out in the open, I guess there's nothing that can be done about that. Even if you cut it up while alive, it will stitch back together. I mean...I can look for a way to get rid of it, but I don't know there is one."

"I am one more round of that thing blinking at me away from chopping off my hand." Freya's eyes widened,

"How about I fix," she gestured to him, the tail, wings, and the white hair covering his left eye like an anime character, "this whole situation, and you refrain from self-mutilation," Jared grumbled, before nodding.

Freya bent down beside him, "Kelly's still looking for that riddle, but for now, I can tell you Camille is recovering quite well." She placed her small hands on his tail and started using some sort of water power to remove the moisture. So drying out was the answer, good to know.

Jared didn't mind this, more relieved to hear Cam was getting better, "That's good."

"It was touch-and-go," Freya explained, "But once she realized there was more to her condition than simply grieving, and that her desire to push people away was part of the condition, she moved back in with her family and was ready to get help."

"So she's stopped trying to bring me back?"

"As long as Otar exists, that will never happen." She replied, "But she's not pushing everyone away and is working through her grief better."

"What about Joselyn?"

"Aelin has asked for the help of a band of kids who owe her a life debt. Finding people is what they do, so they're off looking. Nobody's seen her yet, but your family now has witches, trackers, and themselves looking for her."

"And Viirus? I saw he was staying with Cherokee, the Fae healer." Freya then sighed,

"The two of them rotate between Galowen and Innistrad, depending on progress. The Faebane got into Viirus's bloodstream, and he has completely lost his powers. Cherokee and her apprentice Eden Imelda are the only two known healers who can heal Faebane and Ashwood injuries. So Viirus stays with Cherokee as the travels between mentoring Eden or being the court healer in Galowen, she's also been teaching him everything she knows. He's already made progress in getting his powers back."

"So he's doing fine," Jared nodded to himself, "Good. Kagami?"

"She's perfectly fine. Upset about you, but she could be worse." He sighed with relief,

"At least things are going well enough. The only reason I'm going back is so I can get rid of this power and go back to human." Freya hesitated,

"Um...the Fae thing is one thing, and most if not all your other forms...but your magic has been tied to your soul permanently. Nothing short of tearing your soul apart would get rid of it, and with your bargain with Cosmo..." Jared groaned loudly,

"As long as I am as close to human as I can possibly get and don't have the creepy spying tattoo, I can deal for ten years." He was relieved when he saw his legs return, "Thanks, Freya." He started to fly up and to the top of the cliff.

Freya waved, "Stay safe, Jared."

Jared arrived at the school and landed softly. Ben ran up to him,

"Jared! Liana and Cosmo came back saying you'd fallen in the river! We were about to look for you." Jared nodded absently,

"Yeah, I did fall into the river. I'm fine, though. Just more things I am and don't want to be."

"So are we got going to talk about this?" Ashina asked, "Jared has all the powers!"

"No, no, I don't." _At least I hope I don't._

Chiso wrapped a blanket around him since while Jared had dried enough to get his legs back, he was still soaked and shivering a little.

"I'm fine, Chiso." Jared assured, "Just a little chill."

"Well, we should still get inside," Ashina replied, "Just because we can't die doesn't mean it's not unpleasant."

"Guys, you seriously don't have to take care of me. I'm an adult and can handle myself."

"Says the guy who seems to be attracted to danger." Evan snapped playfully, and Jared gave him the finger.

"It's not my fault magic hates me." He replied, "Iku, Ouroboros, Nameless, Cosmo, Kahu, my own power..." he was counting on his fingers to prove a point.

"Can we all just agree Jared's lucky to have made it to twenty-one?" Liana asked once they arrived in HQ. Jared shrugged,

"Well I was in a coma for a year, so I only managed to live for twenty years."

"Still longer than us." Ben shrugged, sitting Jared down, "Now, I'll get the wine."

"No. The only time I will ever consider drinking that stuff is the holidays. Maybe just tea if you're so insistent."

"On it!" Evan ran off. Cosmo came in,

"Jared! Where the hell did you go?! I looked in the river for you, but you were gone."

"I got a fishtail and dragged myself onto the riverbank. If you were looking _in_ the river, you wouldn't have found me."

"Or I thought it was just a large fish."

"That too."

Cosmo looked to the others, "Liana stay, everyone else goes." With grumbling, the others left. Then Liana and Cosmo exchanged looks, as though deciding who would talk.

"First of all," Jared was the one to break the silence, "What was the goal of the test? Kill them? Avoid them?"

"Your goal was to survive by any means necessary." Cosmo replied, "Because, in a real situation, survival is the most important, not killing. And you passed with flying colors. Liana and I were there to make sure you would be fine even if those things got you." He started pacing, "I assumed those things would be in Cradh's domain. If I had known what those were when I got them, I would never have let you face them. That's why I actively joined the test and told you you _had_ to run."

"What were those things I didn't want to know about if they caught me?"

"They would have unraveled your soul," Cosmo explained, "Which is a brutal and horrific process. You wouldn't move on or be destroyed, but be forced to relive your worst memories for as long as the Nameless used your body for their own pleasure. Then you'd be dumped off somewhere, completely destroyed."

"Sounds unpleasant."

"Doesn't even begin to describe the pain." Cosmo muttered, "I met one of the 'Queen Bees' while in prison. Took an interest in me. Imagine...feeling like you are being torn apart, the wyrm is crawling in your head, and..." If Jared hadn't been hellbent on never being in that prison before, seeing that prisoners could terrorize each other like that made him even more determined. It was a big reason he wanted to be rid of a lot of his power: to never risk being a prisoner by being too overpowering.

Liana's furious and grim expression made Jared realize that the council or at least this "Cradh" person was doing a really shitty job trying to get these kids to find peace if he was willing to lock up a child and leave him to be tortured in prison after removing most of his powers. Jared knew that if he didn't personally know the rest of the council members or understand what was on the other side, he too would want revenge or to not follow the rules.

Cosmo took a bottle of the pixie wine, downing a good portion of it. Jared understood now that it just overloaded the brain with endorphin, oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine—the 'happy' chemicals—and it wasn't actual alcohol, he could still recognize the addiction to the stuff that most people had here since they were upset or a tad salty at all times.

"When you access your power," Cosmo said after a moment, "what does it feel like?"

"A well." Jared replied, having pondered that question before, "It feels like a well."

"Have you felt the bottom of it?"

"Is there a bottom?" He prayed there was. That would mean he was closer to human.

"All magic has a bottom, or a breaking point," Liana answered, "For those with weaker magic, it's easily depleted and easily refilled. They can access most of their power at once. But for those with stronger gifts, it can take hours to hit bottom, to summon their power at full strength."

Jared thought about it, "How long does it take you two?"

"My power is my being," Cosmo said, "So mine is different, I don't have a well."

"For me, it's a half-day." Liana said, "If you respect the bottom, the burnout will just make you sleep for a while. Go past it, and you will literally burn out."

"How long does it take to recover?"

"Days or a week depending on how I used it and whether I drained every last drop," Liana said with a shrug, "Your shaking isn't just from the river," she gestured to his shaking hands, "that's your magic telling you not to pull that again without preparing yourself."

"Good thing I don't plan on doing that again." Jared frowned, "Where's Amber? She's been a bit less around than usual." Liana sighed,

"She really cared about Miles. She feels she failed him." Oh shit, in bringing one peace, he made it much harder to get another to find peace. Especially since Miles was human and Amber was Fae.

"Maybe I'll talk to her," Jared mused to himself, looking at Cosmo, "Can we agree that you will give me a heads up about what I am fighting, and you have to know."

"Agreed. Next test is more of a mind-reading quiz next week. Test in...a month?"

"Sounds good." Liana wrapped another blanket around Jared. While he was annoyed by everyone worrying about him, there was something slightly pleasant about having people care. He wasn't exactly in the good graces of the Sommers family, and now they almost certainly abhorred him after what happened to Camille. "Go to sleep. If I have one main pet-peeve, sleep deprivation is one of them. You literally have bags under your eyes. For the love of God, we are in the afterlife, we should have time to rest. Cosmo, you train with him from 8am to dinner, that's roughly twelve hours and gives Jared time to sleep and clean up. And no more chores as punishment." Cosmo rolled his eyes,

"As you wish, Liana May."

With that, Jared went to his dorm room. Ben tried to talk to him, but he changed into pajamas and was asleep before he hit the pillow.

OoOoO

According to Cosmo's plan, Ashina was next on the list. Amber was unknown, Jared now had the riddle for Chiso, it was springtime. His goal was by the end of the day to have handled Ashina, Chiso, and Evan. This would leave Amber, Liana, and Ben. The plan was to help Amber first, then Ben, and by then Liana will have realized what was going on and be pissed until he explained to her that just because Cradh wasn't to their knowledge disproving the idea of the manager of life being a total dick, didn't mean the other council members were like that, and the council rarely gets involved with the affairs of the living.

"Hey! Ashina!" Jared called and saw Ashina using the machine used to chuck baseballs at you. Ashina turned,

"Oh, hey, Jared! I thought Cosmo would have you running laps or something."

"Nope. He and Liana decided to have...quality time."

"Are they banging in one of their rooms or the closet in HQ? I need to know where to avoid."

"Don't know, don't want to know." He handed her a bottle of water, "Chiso said you had been out here for a while." Ashina looked at the water, drinking it down.

They sat down, and Jared managed to convince her to tell him her backstory.

"When I was three, I got hit by a car from behind," she said, "Afterwards, I was paralyzed from the neck down. My Grandma took care of me while Mom and Dad worked to pay my medical bills. I watched a lot of television back when it wasn't shit. I don't know how or why exactly I died, just that I had died twelve years after the accident. I assume I died in my sleep. There are so many things I want to do!"

Oh no. This was why it would take a while. There were so many things Ashina wanted to do, this would take forever!

Sighing, Jared cracked his knuckles, "Alright, what's first on the afterlife-bucket list?"

OoOoO

It took three days to work through all of Ashina's goals. From wrestling moves to juggling to gymnastics to baseball to soccer, there was so much stuff!

It was sunset on the third day, and Jared was thanking his psychic powers, specifically telekinesis, for making this easier. And Chiso, he also made this much more manageable.

"Ashina, was that the last thing?" He asked, and noticed she had dropped her baseball bat.

"Yeah," she said, looking at her hands. She was clearly tuckered out. Jared wasn't tired, only becoming so when he hadn't slept well in weeks or was facing the wrath of Cosmo. He was a warrior, so simple games and skills didn't tire him out too much.

She turned to him, "There is just one more thing."

"Huh?"

"Marriage." Jared paled. Damnit! For a moment, he feared she would add sex into that. Thankfully she didn't; otherwise, they would have a problem.

"I'll marry you," both Jared and Ashina turned and saw Cosmo standing at the entrance to the baseball field. He walked up to her, cupping her hands, "I will gladly marry you. I've been in love with you for a while if you would take me."

Ashina looked at him with wide eyes, "But I..."

"No matter what kind of sickness or injury you have!" Chiso insisted, "Even if you can't walk or move, or can't have kids, I'll still marry you! No matter where or how I meet you, I'll fall in love with you! If I can meet you again, against the zillion to one odds, and even if your body can't move, I'll marry you!"

For a moment, as Ashina started crying, Jared saw himself and Camille. He missed her, but he was glad to see these two kids finding peace.

"Thank you," Ashina wept with joy, before vanishing. Chiso turned with a smile,

"I believe you have something for me. Ben said you did." Oh, right, the riddle!

"There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet. And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet. At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair. But I bless all those who are brave enough to dare. By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet. But scorned, I become a tricky beast to defeat. For though each of my strikes lands a mighty blow. When I kill, I do it slow... What am I?"

Chiso chuckled, "How fitting. The answer is love." There was an explosion of white light, and he laughed with glee, "My people are free."

"How?"

"She never said I had to be alive to solve the riddle." He lunged at Jared and hugged him.

Then Jared found himself alone on the field.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42: A plan and a new home**

"You know," Kaylee looked out the window, "I did not expect three days alone in the middle of nowhere to be so boring. We should probably pack stuff next time." Felix shrugged, now wearing some formal Fae attire given to them by Queen Ariana. While they had had a decent enough time, it had been slightly dull since they were unsure if witches were looking for him so that they couldn't train or try baseball—and that was assuming the blizzard outside would have permitted it.

"Well, the springtime and summer rescues will be more pleasant." Felix mused, "I can't believe the three days are over. Time to go back to hell. I really don't want to go back."

"I don't want you going back either," Kaylee admitted, changing into her Okte leathers and styling her hair, "I just got you looking healthy again. But I got a call from my brother saying something significant had happened, and Valeria won't let your Dad leave until you are returned." She extended her hand, "Shall we go?"

Felix hesitated before taking her hand. Another month before he saw her again. Another month of torture. But three days was the deal, and he knew he would have to wait for a little, for the arrogant death lady Kaylee pretended to be to start pushing how long three days could be. So he took her hand.

They were almost immediately at the gates of the palace, the balcony he had landed on when he first arrived. There was no blizzard here, but it was still cold.

"Good luck," Kaylee whispered in his ear, "I'll be back to pick you up February 8th."

27 days. Three weeks and six days. Felix mentally started the countdown as he ran into the palace and pretended to be disgusted by Kaylee.

He found Amaya, Kyra, and his parents in one of the studies. His mother was the first to notice him, brightening and falling silent mid-sentence. Amaya's head snapped up, and she was racing across the room, so fast he hardly had time to draw breath before he was crushed against her.

Then she was holding him at arm's length, scanning him from head to toe, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he assured, noticing she was examining the clothes he was wearing, which were modest and formal for the Fae, but offensive to witches, "Nobody touched me other than to get the paint off."

She was breathing hard, eyes wild, "You're okay," she repeated this a few times, while his parents hugged him tightly, shedding genuine tears.

"That girl could harm you in other ways." Kyra mused from where she was sitting on the desk.

"I know. But I'm alright, I truly am. Kaylee wasn't nice, but she didn't commit crimes against humanity or anything. Made me do some things I wasn't a fan of..." He lied gently as he could, reassuring his fiancé while also worrying her, "It wasn't anything worse than what I'll get here." He muttered under his breath, staring in the direction of the door where he had half-expected the matron to be. Then he looked around, "Why is this study trashed?"

Amaya at him in horror, "Did _she_ tell you that? Or has my mother really made you think so poorly of my people and me!?"

"Yes."

Amaya was grabbing his shoulders, "I was terrified for you, and lost control of my magic. A lot of the palace suffered that fate admittedly. But she took you away; she stole you! We know nothing about her, we don't know what kind of games she plays. She could be building up to using you even more!"

"I know." He assured, "And next time, I'll be careful."

"There won't be any next time." Felix tried to hide the knot in his stomach, and his parents looked confused.

"You found a way out?" Zoe asked, "The rest of the family came up empty, and we have an archmage on our side." Amaya looked to Zoe, then looked back at Felix—she was only four or five inches shorter than him, and he was 6'1, so this witch was towering over Zoe.

"I'm not letting you go."

"Kaylee said there were consequences for breaking a magical bargain." Felix mused aloud, looking back at his parents with more than a little worry in his eyes.

"Damn the consequences!" Amaya snapped, but Felix heard what an empty threat it was and how much it pained her. He didn't know why she felt that kind of pain since there was no way she could genuinely be in love with him, so maybe it was her mother's pushing to make her so worried. In tears, she hugged him, "I went out of my mind with worry for you." Her expression then went cold, "I need to ask you some questions."

Shit.

He groaned in affirmation, "Later, I'd rather not think about it right now."

"No, now. While it's still fresh in your head." She looked to his parents, "You're free to go." Felix extended a hand to them,

"Stay—"

"Goodbye, Zoe and Eli," it was then that the matron came in, "There is no longer a need for you here." Zoe punched the matron,

"Don't you disrespect my mate or I like that. This is our child, and even if I'm not up for war, I am willing to ignore my own morals and turn you into a rug if you piss me off one more time. So I will leave you to your meeting while _we_ try to find Kaylee and discuss with her peacefully. But I will be visiting, and I will have all of your heads on spikes if he is even the slightest bit unhappy." She then stormed off—or as close to storming off as she could with a cane—and Eli followed.

"Well he doesn't even want to be here," Kyra shouted after them, sipping some water. She muttered to herself, "I should say goodbye to my head now. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he liked it better with Kaylee than being around you, mother," she looked to her mother with a bitter expression, "because you are _such a joy_."

"Get out." Valeria snapped, and Kyra floated away,

"Fine fine, I was just telling the truth."

Amaya smiled pitifully at him, "I'm sorry about this, but it's for the best." Felix then brightened, putting the crown on the desk,

"Kaylee either burned or sold off the rest, but she let me return this." Valeria examined the crown,

"So this female has some respect for customs, good to know."

He took the time to look at the shredded walls and ruined furniture. What had it been like for Amaya to imagine him in the hands of some random malevolent faerie? He honestly hadn't thought she would care. Though since he wasn't entirely sure the distress was genuine, he had no plans of canceling on Kaylee.

Amaya pulled out some paper, "You need to tell us everything," she said, "layout, location, type of place she was keeping you, other people, what Kaylee said and did, anything that could help us find and handle her so she can't call upon the bargain."

His blood ran cold, "And by 'handle' you mean to kill." Valeria examined her nails,

"If it comes to that. But perhaps a little torture wouldn't hurt." He wanted to be sick at the idea of anyone hurting his friend. And he knew that if they dared try to hurt Kaylee, either she would handle it, or he would annihilate them without mercy.

"I didn't think I was going to be a spy." He snapped, and Amaya looked up with a wan smile,

"You weren't going to be until she stole you. So start with the layout of where she was keeping you."

"This feels like an interrogation. And before you ask, yes, I can remember everything. Kaylee didn't demonstrate any magic."

He went on to describe a tower he had read about in stories, giving vague details and claiming that was the only place he was.

"She said she wanted me to train a bit too." He added in, "With my wings already giving me a balance disadvantage."

"No, out of the question. Training a Nephilim could spark a war with other covens," Valeria ordered. Felix snapped at her,

"But I thought you loved war, with how you threatened to spark one. Or is your bark work than your bite?" She went to slap him, but he stopped her with a single raised hand, his eyes glowing, "Do you really want to try that? Don't you remember my Mom's threat? No, I am not using the 'mommy will save me' card, I am just pointing out that she is known for being deranged and will kill you." Valeria glared, and Amaya was appalled at her mother's behavior.

Hatsune came in, bowing to Felix, "M'Lord, let me take you to your chambers." He frowned, letting her lead him away from his betrothed and horrible mother-in-law.

"Hatsune, you don't need to refer to me as a lord."

"The matron has threatened to whip everyone who doesn't respect her or her heirs." Felix then came to a realization, shaking himself out of his servant's grip,

"Have a day off, Hatsune, my orders. I need to go talk to Kyra."

"But, my lord, your clothes need to be changed, and you must be cleaned."

"I am plenty clean and know how to change myself. I wasn't born yesterday." He handed her the Sommers coven sigil, "If you ever need to run, show this. My family will be able to help you." Hatsune ran off, and Felix found Kyra sitting on her balcony.

"It was your mother." She looked up at him with curious ice-blue eyes, so he clarified, "She is the reason you're paralyzed." Kyra smirked, nodding.

"Yup." Before Felix could prepare himself, she dropped her dress, leaving her in just her undergarments.

But it was the scars that got his attention.

Along her back, whip marks. Burns scattered about. And there were three nail-like scars where her womb would be.

"Holy shit! What happened, and why?!" Kyra put her dress back on,

"I, unlike my sister, was never fond of the idea of having my virginity sold off to the highest bidder or waiting until my forced husband. So I went and made love with a young human man. When mother found out, oh mother goddess save me. Well, I actually didn't care all that much as she whipped me so hard my spine broke and I lost the ability to walk or got nails through my womb. She couldn't kill me since I was her own flesh and blood, so it was just a nice way of saying 'fuck you' since she is the one who reduced me to something no man would want."

Felix sat in another chair with her, "Why couldn't you and I have gotten matched up? Then we could both take other partners for love, and we wouldn't care what the other does."

"Right. But I'm considered worthless, so at least I never have to get married. You're betrothed to my lewd sister. So have fun in the bedroom, assuming that pretty friend of yours doesn't come to save you." Felix spit out his water, looking at her, and her mischievous smirk.

"Kaylee?"

"Yes, her. My power is sensing and manipulating the powers of others. So naturally, I picked up on her lack of magic." He paled,

"You're not going to tell you mother, right?" Kyra narrowed her eyes,

"What part of what you know about me makes you think I would do shit for her? Hell, I want to rutting help you. Just promise me Amaya won't get hurt in this. It's not her fault."

"She told her mother about me."

"She didn't tell mother you were a Nephilim. Just that she met you and you seemed nice. Mother learned your species on her own. My sister is territorial, protective, hot-headed, a lot of things. But she isn't a bad person." She held out her hand, "I'll make a bargain with you. I help you avoid punishment for breaking the rules and getting out of this marriage; and in return, Amaya will not be harmed." Felix shook her hand without hesitation and a flash of light emitted from between them until they both had a matching tattoo on their palm of a mountain with three stars above it.

"What do we tell the others about this bargain?"

"That I don't get killed when your mother goes on a rampage, in exchange I will do what I do best and keep my mother off your back by pissing her off." She looked to the infinity symbol on Felix's wrist, "What's the real bargain?"

"I give her protection and knowledge in exchange for her taking me away from here three days a month." Kyra laughed herself hoarse.

"Oh, that is exquisite." She let her hair down, and Felix thought of a question,

"Why is Amaya the only one with wings in the coven?"

"She's not. At least, she's not supposed to be. It's customary for only the ruling family to have wings, so they get removed for others. Mother keeps hers concealed and ripped mine off, so Amaya is the only one."

"Seriously? She tortured you to near-death just because you lost your virginity to someone, not of her choosing?"

"Yup. Kinda want to see what you happen if you banged Kaylee. Mother can't do anything about it since your mother would bite her head off, but she would also see you as dirty and unworthy of her 'only' daughter."

"So having sex is the answer?"

"Pretty much."

Felix hugged himself a little, not a huge fan of that being the only option. He decided to never bring that up to Kaylee because he was pretty sure she would either castrate him, or he would die of embarrassment.

"I suppose... you could fake your own death." Felix looked up at her, as she shrugged, pouring herself a glass of pixie wine, which she always seemed to have a large jug of.

"How would I do that?"

"Don't know. But that would work if you knew how to hide or change your appearance." She frowned, "But you would need a plausible cause of death and a reason. As the fiancé to the heir of the Sardothian coven, I could always pull a _Princess Bride_ and get you kidnapped, so sweet Kaylee has to rescue you. But seeing as you are immortal, I can't think of a way you could die in a method that could be faked, other than faking a suicide."

"That actually sounds kind of fun. Getting kidnapped." Kyra winked,

"I'll make plans and hire some people. Please wear the red outfit. I'm _Princess Bride_ trash, so I am going to call you Buttercup until the end of your days. Just let Kaylee know we're trying to build up to getting rid of this marriage once and for all. And tell her to wear a black mask."

"You really are just turning this into your personal fanfiction, aren't you."

"Yes, I am. If I am going to scheme, I might as well have fun with it. Warning: Amaya is going to flip out and be extremely protective of you."

"Worth it if this is a plot to work in the long run." Kyra handed him some wine,

"Cheers, to keeping you a virgin for longer using at least a dozen movies and books." They clinked glasses and drank.

OoOoO

"Where is my sister?!" Eli ordered, barging into Cherokee's hut. Viirus was there, and so was Eden. Camille was sleeping on the cot by the fire, hooked up to a couple machines.

"She's stable," Cherokee said calmly, and Eli wondered why Cherokee was Eden's mentor when this girl couldn't be much older than Joselyn. Fae, like most magical creatures, settled around the age of twenty-five, meaning they stopped aging. So she was obviously sixteen at the very oldest. Eden was twenty-one. He decided not to worry about it too much, but his gaze settled on a corpse in the corner. It was a woman around the age of thirty, "Who?"

"She brought Camille in." Viirus explained, "At least, her body did. She died right after Camille was confirmed to live, so Cherokee thinks it might have been Jared using a vessel."

"Oh." Eli sighed, "Don't tell her that. Just say I grabbed her. Our goal is for her to accept Jared's gone, not give her hope he will come back."

"Well seeing as she almost died from broken heart syndrome, I would say that deep down she already knows." Eden replied, "And it also explains her behavior, pushing people away, not eating, and so on. It's been three days, and she's been coming in and out of consciousness. It's not safe yet to move her. Otar came in once, and Amhar cried."

"Oh, lovely." Eli groaned, "Zoe's back at the house, working on the final touches on the new world. She's currently trying to figure out how to add mana and how much. Apparently, that's important for Alexa and Joselyn." He stroked Camille's cheek, taking in her features. A frown was still on her face, even though she was deeply asleep. She just looked miserable.

It wasn't Jared's fault, he tried to tell himself. Jared hadn't known this would happen. _But he could have listened. You all knew about another way. _Well, seeing as Eli had married Zoe, he knew that stubbornness was a powerful force. Honestly, Eli wondered if Jared was some sort of long-lost Carpenter with the stubbornness and tendency to wind up in trouble. And he had to admit he missed Jared, they had been close. It was kind of a love-hate feeling. This left him okay with the fact Jared was gone, but still, miss him. But seeing Camille like this made the hate flare-up.

Using his twin-connection, Camille woke up within five minutes of him sitting bedside with her. She blinked a few times, sitting up, hesitating as he handed her a glass of water.

"Here, you're probably parched." She nodded a little, drinking quietly.

"What happened?" She asked after a minute, "How did I get here?"

"Twin-connection," Eli lied, "I sensed you were in danger and I brought you here. To put it simply," now he was speaking the truth, "You are suffering from broken heart syndrome and had a heart attack." Camille frowned,

"So I'm sick?" Eli nodded, kissing her knuckles,

"Don't worry, though. We love you and are here to support you. Just let us in, and we can get you help." He didn't think it would be so easy, but she burst into tears and clung to her twin.

"I-I thought I saw him." She wept, "So close, so close..." he stroked her hair,

"I know. But do you really think he would be able to forgive himself if you died like that? He would want you to live."

"I know." She was shaking, "I-I want help, i-if there's really a problem. I don't want to give up." He had to fight back his own tears that she was finally opening up. Well, he did know firsthand that near-death experiences helped a person open up. Or maybe it was a Sommers family trait. And even if it had been only for a minute, he knew the feeling of losing his mate. Not suicidal, but extremely difficult to go on. Life will never be the same, there will always be a gaping hole where your mate used to be. He was just relieved he had gotten his back but had empathy towards his sister, who wasn't so lucky.

"When you are good to go, you're coming back with the family. I'll schedule you some therapy. Is that okay?" She nodded, holding him tighter,

"I'm sorry." He smiled, ruffling her chocolate hair, identical to his own other than the white streaks he had.

"It's nothing, sis. Let's just call it those teenage years of not getting along that we missed."

"Yeah, 'cause you knocked up a girl at sixteen."

"Shut it, you. You lost your virginity like five months later."

"Actually no, I did not lose my virginity to Jared. I lost that at fifteen when Jared was fourteen. You don't want to know." Eli had forgotten Jared was a little over six months younger than he and Camille. And since Eli had technically lost his own virtue during a horrific rape, he decided he wouldn't push, and Camille would tell him when she was ready.

Cherokee coughed, "Hate to break up the sibling cuteness, but maybe she should rest." Eli nodded, kissing his sister's forehead,

"Right."

OoOoO

"Ready?" Zoe asked excitedly. The entire family was sitting in the Gummi Ship, floating in the Lanes Between. Eden was next to her, transforming into Tenshi.

Zoe had changed her final form. No longer Heartless, but instead Stardust, like her nickname given to her by her Dad when she was younger, which Eli started using. Her attire was a flowing dark violet gown, her hair still with silver streaks in it, and her eyes molten gold, but she looked far less malicious and more like an alluring Death Angel at worst.

Both sisters jumped into the Lanes Between and floated there, holding hands and glowing brightly, light and darkness clashing and creating a new world. The mana this world had was plentiful, and there was a natural defense against harmful things. It was lush and green, with plenty of water. Probably the size of a small moon, but since it was only to be populated by their family, it was more than enough.

Landing, everyone saw there was a large castle, as well as small homes scattered around.

"Woah." Eli exhaled, looking at the castle, made of pale blue stone with darker blue tiles as roofs. The Sommers coven symbol was engraved just above the entrance.

"A place for just us, our children, your parents," Zoe put a hand on her stomach, "And that final baby we're hoping for."

Eli grinned, sweeping her off her feet and carrying her into their new home.


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: How is it, Driver3196 back with the next chapter of the Ravnica arc. Please keep in mind that these chapters are now no longer happening within the same timeframe as the rest of the story, but are instead happening in sequence with each other. Yes, this is all one EXTREMELY long day for poor ole Joselyn. And for everyone else suffering on Ravnica. Also, this chapter jumps around a lot with the many events going on during the battle. And with that out of the way, here's the next chapter of Greg Weisman's "War Of The Spark, but actually readable".**

**Chapter 43: Band Together**

Joselyn watched in horror as Domri shriveled into a dried up husk and the Eternal that grabbed him exploded, sending his spark into the sky towards the dragon's throne. She was speechless as more planeswalkers arrived, drawn to their death by the Interplanar Beacon. She wanted to stop them, to tell them to turn back before it was too late, but it wouldn't help. Instead, she just had to stand and watch as innocent people from all over the multiverse were slaughtered, and she almost joined them as an Eternal lunged for her. The undead naga just about had its hands on her arm when she came to her senses and broke into a run. She didn't know where to go, just that she needed to run, to get away from the atrocities of another massacre. So that's what she did. Ducking under falling debris and the arms of Eternals, Joselyn sprinted deeper into the heart of Ravnica. Despite the hopeless odds, she still saw a few people trying to fight back. A minotaur with red-hot chains was cutting down numerous undead, and a young boy, likely a few years older than her, attempted to hold back the army with geometric lightshields. She worried they wouldn't last, but didn't have time to think about them as strong arms grabbed her and pulled her into a nearby building. Joselyn attempted to fight them before quickly realizing that it was Gideon who had pulled her to safety. A few others stood around him, including Jaya, Chandra, and Teferi. Jason, the young boy, and the minotaur ran in after them. "They outnumber us at least a hundred to one," the minotaur bellowed between heavy breaths. Gideon frowned.

"Jace has set up a meeting with all the planeswalkers he can rally within the Orzhov church," he told them. "It should be safe for everyone in there." He began leading them down the corridor to said meeting when a heavy thud sounded through the room. Everyone turned to see the door crack. A second thud followed quickly by another and another as the door splintered and gave way, letting the Eternals in. Everyone began running, trying to escape the undead warriors before Joselyn realized a fatal mistake they were making.

"Aren't we leading them right to the other planeswalkers?" she asked. Jaya's brow furrowed as she stopped.

"You're right, child," the wisened pyromancer said. "You lot go. I'll make certain that they can't follow."

"Jaya, that's suicide," Jason retorted. "Even if you hold back one, there are dozens, if not hundreds coming in."

"That, boy, is why I plan to seal off the passage. Collapse it, if I must."

"No, there's got to be another way, anything else," Chandra pleaded. "We can't lose anyone else!"

"There is no other way, child. Not unless one of you wishes to do the deed. Now hurry, I will buy you time to escape." And with that, Jaya sprinted back towards the Eternals. Gideon grabbed Chandra's wrist and dragged her down the corridor as the surrounding area began to collapse, the section behind them engulfed in flames. Stone began piling up between the remaining planeswalkers and the death army, as well as the echo of Jaya's cries, first in fury, then in anguish. Joselyn turned to look just in time to see an Eternal explode. Another spark harvested for Nicol Bolas. She just hoped that it wouldn't be in vain.

OoOoO

As the six entered the main chamber, Joselyn picked out a few things. First was the large sphinx statue hanging from the ceiling, the face holding a look of terror, and she wondered why anyone would want that in their room, much less in a church. Second was the moonfolk sitting in the corner, sobbing over Ajani's axe, dozens of scrolls lining her belt. Third was the two women who rushed towards Jason, one being a young elf in a blue and green dress with silver lining and the other being a woman in her mid-twenties with short brown hair and blue robes with a white triangle similar to the insignia the Immortal Sun gave off. She also noticed a large collection of people, all talking with Jace, and a small dog that came bounding up to her, yipping happily. Despite everything that she had gone through, Joselyn was still a preteen girl and was therefore delighted to be able to have a dog come to her, that is, until it brushed up against her left side. She wasn't sure how she had missed it before, but the large gash running from her eye to her pelvis had torn through more than skin, and it was by sheer luck that she hadn't had to be constantly holding some of her organs in. Everyone took note of this, with Jason silently moving over to her, using his pyromancy to cauterize the wound. "It's not perfect, but it'll hold until this is over," he told her. The dog licked her hand worriedly as an asian boy called it over.

"Mowu, to me." The dog, Mowu, looked at Joselyn sympathetically before scampering back to his master. "Sorry about him. He's a little on edge, as I'm sure we all are. You can call me Jiang Yanggu. And you would be?"

"Adelina Brock," Joselyn responded, the use of the pseudonym surprisingly natural. This sparked a quick introduction from everyone present, getting a crash course in beings like Kor and Zendikari demons, as well as various different planes. Once the pleasantries were out of the way and everyone was acquainted, Jace began.

"As you know, the Eternals have become even more dangerous for planeswalkers, and said planeswalkers can't leave. More like us are being called here every second. So, here's what we need to get done. The Immortal Sun, Planar Bridge, and Interplanar Beacon all three need to be shut off. For the Sun, Chandra, Saheeli, and Lavinia will go to New Prahv to shut it off. Be warned, Dovin Baan has total control over the area, so you will meet heavy resistance."

"I've got a contact that can help," Lavinia assured the mind mage.

"As for the Planar Bridge, Samut, Ob Nixilis, and Dack Fayden will travel through the portal to destroy the physical bridge on the other side. Saheeli, think you can whip up something to help them out with that?"

"I'll see what I can do," the dark-skinned woman responded.

"Wonderful. Ral, you turned the Interplanar Beacon on. Think you can turn it off?" The stormmage in question rubbed his temples.

"There's a lot of power going through that thing. I don't know, but I'll see what I can do. Also, we need to talk about Operation Desperation. Niv Mizzet said it was our best chance in a crisis like this, and if-"

"Niv may have been brilliant, but anything he had planned before seeing the situation unfold likely pales in comparison to what Nicol Bolas would counter it with. Everyone else, see what you can do to help the civilians. Evacuate them to the undercity. Vraska should be able to give them shelter with the Golagri."

"How do you know we can even trust her?" Kaya asked. "She murdered Isperia in cold blood and ran off, all while the rest of use risked our asses conspiring against Nicol Bolas." Jace looked offended.

"She was under the control of Nicol Bolas. And if memory serves, she wasn't the only one. So don't blame her for the actions of the dragon. Besides, we have more pressing matters, namely the Dreadhorde."

"The land outside of the city is flat," Karn brought up. "If we evacuate the civilians just beyond the city borders, I can build a refuge for them out there."

"You'll be defenseless," Kaya said. "A refuge is great, but doesn't do much with no one to guard it."

"Ajani found some planeswalkers that could help, namely the Kenrith twins and a songmage by the name of Tacenda Verlasen, though I am unsure about her presence on Ravnica. I believe the werewolf Arlinn Kord is also present on Ravnica and would be willing to help."

"That's great," Jace said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "But what about the Dreadhorde? Defenders that can be taken out in one blow aren't very effective."

"As much as I hate to say it," Gideon butted in, "Jace is right. The Eternals can kill a planeswalker with a single touch, and there's thousands of them at this point. Not to mention the numerous civilians they're still slaughtering."

"If memory serves, isn't Liliana Vess controlling the Eternals?" Jason asked.

"Yes. If we take her out, the Dreadhorde has no leadership and is rendered useless," Jace responded. Gideon heaved a heavy sigh and walked away, unable to listen to talk of killing Liliana. He was, after all, the only one who still believed she had good in her, that she would help them when the time was right. Jason paid him no mind, instead continuing with his idea.

"Sounds like we need a small assassination group." Jace nodded, his contempt for the necromancer clearly displayed. Jason continued. "Jace, could use your help tracking her down. Teferi, if you wouldn't mind, your chronomancy would be very helpful with slowing her down."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Teferi asked. Jason's hand lit up in flames.

"I'm the one who burns."

...

While the Jason planned on how to deal with Liliana, Gideon pulled Joselyn off to the side. He didn't feel comfortable with her joining the fight. "This is dangerous, and there's a good chance you could die," he told her. Joselyn just stared at him.

"So what," she said. "Honestly, it might be better if I did." Gideon looked horrified at her response. "I haven't been entirely honest with you about who I am." She dropped her illusions, revealing her true face. "My name is Joselyn Carpenter, and everyone who gets close to me dies. You seem like a good person, Gideon. I don't want you to suffer just because you took pity on me. I've caused so much death that I barely deserve to be here." Joselyn stared at the ground, barely managing to hold back tears when she felt Gideon clasp his hands on her shoulders.

"You're not the only one," he said encouragingly. "When I was younger, my arrogance got the best of me, and I tried to kill the god of death, Erebos. My plan failed, and while I survived the crackback thanks to my invulnerability, my friends weren't so lucky. Everyone close to me that day died, paying the price for my arrogance. That was the day my spark ignited. But instead of just running away, hoping to find death, I sought redemption. I worked hard to protect everyone I could to spare them from the same fate my irregulars suffered. So, Joselyn Carpenter, instead of running into the fight hoping to bring your end, run into it hoping to prevent someone else's." Joselyn pondered this for a bit, realizing that this sounded like advice Jared might have given. After all, he did fight to protect as well, so maybe she should too, even if only in his memory. . . no, she had to shake that thought, focus on what Gideon had said instead.

"I'll try," was all she responded with before wrapping herself around him in a tight hug, which he gladly returned.

"Oh, and one more thing," Gideon remarked as they pulled apart. He reached behind him and pulled out a bronze gauntlet with four metal rolls on the end. "I had my sural repaired the other day. Seems a little overkill to have this and Blackblade, and you seem a little light on weapons." She took the sural and put it on. Luckily, she had retained Jared's knowledge of sural use from the time she. . . no, she wasn't going to think about that right now. Instead, she put the weapon on, flicking her wrist to release the tendralled blades and smiled. Now she could fight.

"Hey, Gideon!" Jace called over. "We're about to set out, and Aurelia is on the roof with something for you."

"Okay, I'll be right there," he called back, then returned his gaze to Joselyn. "You ready kid?"

"Absolutely," she responded. "Let's go kick this dragon's-" She was cut off as the roof began crumbling. A large staff tore through the building, and the God-Eternal Rhonas could be seen with a massive army right outside. The room's occupants scrambled to escape, with some having more luck than others. Joselyn got swept to the side by a large beam that came swinging down as rubble fell around her. Spots began forming in her vision as she felt the weight of the ceiling come crashing down on her backside, and expected to be squashed. A few seconds passed, and Joselyn opened her eyes to find her skin glowing with a golden aura, just like Gideon's indestructibility, and her being the lone support to keep a few people alive. The shieldmage Teyo lay a few feet from her, a large gash across the side of his head, whimpering in pain. Not far from him, Huatli sat attempting to push her dislocated shoulder back into its socket, her wrist on the opposite arm clearly broken. Yanggu had it the worst, a large pile of wood and stone piled on his torso, and his wheezing making it clear that he was struggling to breathe. Joselyn was afraid to move, worried that any shift in the rubble might bring the rest of the roof down on them. Even though she barely knew these people, Gideon had somehow already started to get in her head, and she now felt responsible for their safety. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. The small hole in the rubble might become their tomb.

...

Chandra caught up with Lavinia and Saheeli. The three had managed to escape the destruction of the Orzhov church rather quickly and were on their way to New Prahv. They moved in silence, each one knowing the opposition they would face in the tenth district. They were lucky that the Eternals didn't seem interested in exploring the back alleys, giving them a chance to stop and collect themselves. The looming portal of the Planar Bridge shone over them, with more Eternals pouring out of it every second, but the three women had to focus on the other light in Ravnica's sky, the Immortal Sun. The artifact was kept deep within a heavily secured fortress, and it would be a fight just to get to it, and no telling what Dovin had in store for them once they did. The trio stood there, each mentally preparing themselves for the daunting task. As they stood there, Lavinia was the first one to speak up, giving a much needed break to the silence. "I really wish Jason was here," she said. Saheeli's face softened.

"You really love him, don't you?" Lavinia nodded, raising her hand to try and hide the tears that had started slipping down her cheeks.

"I, I think he was planning on proposing soon, but up against Liliana, I-I. She's powerful. I know Jason can handle himself, but I'm not sure if Jace and Teferi are going to be enough to hold her back. I'm worried that he won't make it. Gods know how that would crush Syllia…" Lavinia trailed off, lost in thought.

"I know how you feel," Saheeli said, placing a hand on the lawmage's shoulder. "I hated to leave Huatli back in that church. For all I know, she could be dead. We just have to have hope that they'll survive, and our job now is to ensure that they do. Isn't that right, Chandra?" No response. "You're being uncharacteristically quiet." The pyromancer turn to look at the insignia of the Immortal Sun in the sky, ignoring her friend. "Hey, Nalaar, a little communication please?" Saheeli was starting to get annoyed, but Lavinia spoke up before the situation could go any farther.

"My contact is already in the towers of New Prahv. They'll meet us up in the Azorius Spire."

"Then let's go," Chandra said. "No time to waste."

...

Gideon looked at the ruined building that had been the Orzhov guildhall, then turned to Aurelia, conflicted. The angel turned to look at the citadel, then turned back to Gideon and nodded, ending a wordless conversation. Gideon walked over to the nearby pegasus, a gift to him from the Boros Legion they had called Gideon's Promise, and stroked its neck. "Would you give your life to save this world?" Gideon murmured. The pegasus snorted and spread wide its mighty wings. That answer was good enough for Gideon as he mounted Promise, drawing Blackblade and launching into the sky. Aurelia soon joined him, flying to his left. The recently redeemed angel Feather joined him on his right, and behind him, the rest of the angels of the Boros Legion along with the Skyknights flew in formation, ready for battle. Parhelion II emerged from the clouds above them, angels pouring out of it, drawing blades made of molten dawn. On the surface below, the planeswalkers Angrath and Kasmina had rallied the rest of the Legion, as well as numerous Izzet and Simic troops, to help control the ground forces while Gideon, Feather, and Aurelia controlled the air. Angels and knights clashed with lazotep-coated avens and drakes, a flurry of feathers, armor, and blue metal getting knocked out of the sky. Gideon took no part in this, instead aiming for the army's current commander, Rhonas. One strike with Blackblade would take down the undead god, he just needed to get close enough. And he almost did, if it weren't for the staff. Any time Gideon would get near, he would always have to pull away to keep from getting knocked out of the sky by the god's weapon. It was a game of cat and mouse, one that Gideon was afraid he might lose if he wasn't careful. And if he wanted to get to Nicol Bolas, he had to take out this god first. He was running out of options.

...

Kiora ran through the streets of Ravnica, trying to help every civilian she came across, those that were still alive, at least. She entered Simic territory, where she had access to the waterfront, allowing her to summon as many deep sea monsters as she could find. The moonfolk Tamiyo watched and recorded nearby, choosing neutrality. As much as this decision angered Kiora, she had to focus on the threat in front of her. Her bident, stolen from the sea god Thassa on Theros, was effective against the Eternals, but not fast enough. They began circling her, the smell of stale metal and rotting meat surrounding the merfolk when she heard Tamiyo gasp. The God-Eternal Kefnet descended from the clouds before them, his pointed crook aimed at the two planeswalkers. Kiora attempted to pull the former god of knowledge down with a massive kraken, but the effort was in vain as the ibis-headed deity broke free in a matter of seconds. Kiora was beginning to lose hope, and she wasn't the only one. Tamiyo was caught in her own struggles, as a manticore Eternal stepped forward, its armored carapace cracked and burned, its rotting flesh exposed in multiple places, and leonin blood still dripping from its tail. Tamiyo realized that neutrality was not an option in this fight, her entire being filled with rage towards Ajani's killer. She reached for one of her scrolls. Surely one of her stories had enough power to aid her. Dozens of choices, but she could only think of one. One of her forbidden scrolls, a story with too much power to be handled safely, but that was exactly what Ravnica needed right now. She unlocked the scroll, feeling the power from the title alone: _The Brothers War, Dominaria_. The power of such a devastating conflict would now be unleashed on this one, as Tamiyo did just that, wiping out several dozen Eternals in one blow, including the manticore that had killed Ajani. Already feeling satisfied, she went in for another attack, not hearing the warnings Kiora was screaming at her. Raising her fists to unleash the powerful story once more, Tamiyo felt a sharp pain in her side, and it moved into her body, cutting into her vital parts. She looked to see Kefnet's crook embedded in her side, blood already running down the weapon and dripping into the sea below. Her breath caught as she felt her life slip away from her, but not before an undead sphinx swooped down, grabbing her off of the crook and harvesting her spark. Kiora looked in terror, continuing to fight off the Eternals, to avoid the same fate, but fatigue was not on her side as her motions became sluggish and the sea monsters stopped responding to her call. A khopesh was shoved into her gut, a spear down her spine, and a lazotep-covered hand grasped her arm, draining the spark from the merfolk, and putting Nicol Bolas one step closer to victory.

...

"Hurry," Joselyn heaved, her knees beginning to buckle under the weight of the rubble.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Huatli said. She was using her good arm, careful to not hit her wrist, to move the rubble off of Yanggu, who was currently unconscious from the lack of air getting to his lungs. "I'm worried that we're going to die down here."

"No, we won't," Joselyn responded. "Someone has to be out there looking for us. I'm sure of it." That seemed to help Huatli, but Joselyn wasn't sure if that was to convince the dinosaur knight or herself. Teyo still lay uselessly, not moving to avoid making his head wound worse. The rubble shifted on top of her, and she felt the aura start fading. Her ribs began cracking from the stress and the air was quickly knocked from her lungs. Huatli gave her a worried look, to which Joselyn shook her head, her eyes silently apologizing as she collapsed from exhaustion. Her vision was so blurry that she could only hear the stone coming down on top of them, knowing they were going to be crushed. Everything went cold, and Joselyn expected to open her eyes and see herself before the death council. But that's not what she saw. Instead, she saw Mu Yanling, the woman manipulating the surrounding water to lift the stone from overtop of the group along with the rubble that had been covering Yanggu. Mowu stood beside her, yipping excitedly as his master was rescued. The young asain sat up, violently coughing as his breath returned to him. The four planeswalkers walked into the street, seeing the Eternals kept at bay by a massive tidal wave as civilians made a break for it, being directed by Rakdos cultists to the fastest and safest route out of the city. Huatli stepped up to Yanling.

"Thank you," she said. The hydromancer nodded.

"Are you all capable of combat in your current condition?" Yanling asked.

"All but Teyo. We need to send him to Karn, have his wounds looked at. And his gifts may prove handy there." Yanling nodded again.

"Judith, please take the young man in black over there to the silver bastion." One of the cultists stepped forward.

"Of course. Any chance to sow some chaos among the Eternals on the outskirts," Judith said, her voice suave and seductive. Teyo gulped as she licked her lips. "Come along now, handsome." She grabbed his wrist and skipped off into the crowd of civilians.

"Now, where are you all planning on going?" Yanling questioned.

"I think Yanggu needs to stay here and rest," Huatli responded. "I'm on my way to the front lines with Angrath and Gideon."

"And the girl?"

"Joselyn needs to rest as well." Huatli glanced around, seeing Joselyn curled up, peacefully asleep. "She needs protecting like that." Yanling narrowed her eyes.

"She is clever." Huatli looked confused. "What you are seeing is an illusion she cast. I would say that she is well on her way to the front lines as we speak."

"Shit," Huatli muttered. "We're close enough to the Selesnya lands. Can you part the water to let me call a mount?" Yanling created a small archway as Huatlis eyes lit up a vibrant gold, and a ferocious roar sounded throughout the street. A dinosaur came running into the watery circle of protection, stopping only long enough for Huatli to leap onto its back and take off again in the direction of Parhelion II. She rode fast, cursing herself for not checking to see if Yanling was able to take shelter when she heard the agony-filled cry and saw a spark fly past her to the citadel in the sky.

...

"This is a terrible idea," Sarkhan said.

"It's the best one we have," Karn responded. The large silver structure behind them had quickly filled up with civilians before the Eternals caught on to what was going on, but now they were advancing on Karn's Bastion. The pacifist golem stood at the entrance as a last line of defense while Will, Rowan, Vivien, and Alexa stood spread out in front of it. Arlinn had amassed an army of wolves and was taking out the Eternals as they attempted to cross into the grassland, but she was slowly being overrun. Sarkhan moved to join the other four, but paused when he heard a scream. At first he thought it was a Ravnican that was trying to escape a stray Eternal, and then he saw the spark fly into the air. Arlinn Kord had fallen.

"Prepare for battle!" Sarkhan yelled. "They are upon us!" Undead rushed into the field, hundreds of them against only five planeswalkers. Sarkhan didn't like the odds. He ran down into the coming fray to find that this might become the shortest battle on Ravnica today. Neither of the twins were able to do anything effective with their magic as the enchanted metal coating the zombies dispersed it before it could do anything, and their blades clattered uselessly against the Eternals armored carapace. Alexa wasn't fairing much better. Not only was she complaining about deja vu with some being called Kahu, both her ice and shadow attacks were dispersed, just like the Kenriths. Only Vivien was having any luck, her arkbow firing arrow after arrow, each one taking the form of a ferocious beast, and each one destroying an Eternal. Sarkhan grunted. "Kenriths, young girl, behind me!" he bellowed. The three quickly obeyed and watched as the dracomancer's hands morphed into twin dragon heads, each one belching cones of flame into the oncoming invaders. The dragonfire was hot enough to melt through the lazotep before it had a chance to counter the magic, leaving only rotting corpses, which quickly burned to a crisp. As effective as this was, Sarkhan and Vivien could only do so much, multiple Eternals swarming in on all sides.

"Great," Alexa remarked sarcastically. "Looks like we're up shit creek."

...

Chandra, Saheeli, and Lavinia reached the top of the Azorious spires. Surprisingly, they had been met with little to no opposition, which only made them even more nervous. Reaching the doors to the main chamber, they were all silent, and Saheeli even involuntarily held her breath. Lavinia reached for the door handle, but it opened before she even touched it. The vedalken Dovin Baan stood in the center of the room, spy thopters swarming around him and the Immortal Sun looming in the background. "I was expecting you three," Dovin said, a smug smile slipping onto his usually expressionless face. "Especially you, Ms. Nalaar."

"Turn the Sun off, Baan," Lavinia demanded.

"I'm afraid I cannot accept your request, Lavinia. After all, I am the lawmaker here. You are a meer renegade at this point. Your accomplices can relate. Speaking of, do you like them, Ms. Rai? The thopters, of course." Saheeli balled her fists, clearly still furious with Dovin about the state that he and Tezzeret left her homeplane of Kaladesh in after the Inventor's Fair. Dovin waved his hand, and the thopters that had been buzzing around him now dove towards the three women. Lavinia immediately ducked for cover, but Saheeli was ready. She lifted her arm, calling upon her metallurgy and morphing the incoming thopters. Several of them became far too heavy to fly and clanked to the ground, but a few of them flew to her side, now under her control, having been altered to look like the needle-nosed thopters of Kaladesh. The dark-skinned woman wore a determined look, her red and blue dress swirling around her legs as she walked towards Dovin, the thopters at her command leveling themselves with his chest. The vedalken glared at her, and laughed. "Do you truly think so little of me," he asked, "that you didn't believe that I would have precautions in place for the three of you? Do remember that I too am from Kaladesh. I know how the people there think, and with my time in the Azorius Senate, I am prepared for all three of you." The already loud buzzing became deafening as thousands of thopters swarmed from behind the Immortal Sun, filling the air like locusts. Even Saheeli became overwhelmed, and she and Lavinia attempted to duck back to the door and formulate a more thorough plan, but Chandra didn't join them.

"Chandra, we're outmatched," Saheeli yelled, struggling to be heard over the din of the flying machines. "We need to get out of here." Chandra just stared at Dovin, ignoring Saheeli's pleas. Despite the extreme evil eye the pyromancer was giving him, Dovin had the nerve to laugh again. Chandra lobbed a fireball at the vedalken, only for it to be deflected by one of a seemingly endless number of thopters. Another ball of fire, another thopter to deflect it, and another, and another. Dovin smiled in amusement.

"I see you've learned nothing, Chandra," he mused. "You'd still rather put a match to something rather than understand it."

"That is where you are wrong, Baan," Chandra said. "It seems it is you that has learned nothing." There was something off about her voice, but it was difficult to hear over the roar of the thopters. Dovin sent a thopter diving at Chandra's head, only for it to be deflected with a precision flame blast, and the pedestal of the Immortal Sun lighting on fire at the same time.

"That would be my contact," Lavinia said with a smile. Dovin and Saheeli both looked to see a second Chandra, roasting the base of the Sun, goggles down and face filled with determination. Dovin turned back to the first Chandra, clearly confused.

"It seems what you don't know, will _definitely _hurt you," she said, her voice now sounding masculine with a russain accent. Her form shimmered, revealing her to be none other than the Dimir guildmaster and shapeshifter, Lazav. It was clear that Dovin had not been expecting this as the rival guildmaster rushed at him, the Izzet League flamethrower he had been using clattering to the ground. Dovin tried to move out of the way, but for the first time in his life was anticipated first and then outmaneuvered, two throwing stars leaving Lazav's hands and impaling Dovin's eyes. The Azorius guildmaster cried in pain, struggling to maintain control of his thopters with his newfound blindness. As the real Chandra finished off the pedestal, the Immortal Sun began tipping over, the massive circular stone slowly falling to the floor, crashing, hitting with enough force that the tower began to break apart, its contents falling into the plaza below. Thopters flew wildly as everyone did what they could to break their fall and spare themselves from injury, fatal or not.

...

Liliana ducked into an alley, avoiding the chaos, and her friends. She didn't want to be seen like this, seen by them as a monster. But that damn dragon wouldn't give her a choice. For her, it was serve or die. Had this been her ten years ago, she would have had no problem whatsoever, but now she had friend, people who cared about her, or at least people who used to. She decided that they probably hated her now, and she couldn't blame them. If only she had had a chance to explain. To tell them about the contract, about how it bound her to Nicol Bolas, about how she wouldn't be doing any of this if she had a choice. But right now, her only other choice was death. A death far slower and far more painful than what several other planeswalkers were experiencing, much like the young girl Liliana saw from the shadows of the alley. She couldn't have been older than seven, walking around scared and confused as an Eternal grabbed her throat. All she could do was squeak in fear as her essence was sucked from her, as she sat in the clutches of the undead warrior and died. Liliana turned away, unable to watch. Removing the Chain Veil, she leaned her arms against the wall, trying to keep herself from passing out as tears flowed down her cheeks. She had never wanted it to come to this. Wind whipped through the alley, feeling more ferocious than normal. Turning back to the battle, everything seemed to be moving faster, until she noticed the feel of magic in the air: chronomancy. Teferi was close. "Come on Jace," she called, feeling certain he would be there as well. "You can come on out." Her voice was still choked from tears, and she hoped that Jace would realize that they were genuine and not just an act she put on to make them believe she was vulnerable. The mind mage in question stepped into the light, looking her dead in the eye. Liliana sighed in relief. "Thank the gods you're here."

"Stop right there," Jace commanded, his voice uncharacteristically imposing.

"Jace, just let me explain. I-"

"No, you don't get an explanation. To quote Chandra, 'You betrayed us, you sick bitch.'" Liliana felt hurt. It was no surprise that they all felt that way. Hell, Nicol Bolas had been taunting her with that for months, but to hear it said aloud by one of the few people she had truly become close with, that was worse than anything the elder dragon could do to her. "Call off the attack." Liliana hung her head. "Liliana, CALL IT OFF!"

"I CAN'T!" she screamed at him. "He won't let me. If I do, he'll kill me. Do you really think that I want this? I want that dragon dead, to be able to make his corpse dance before me. But he has his finger on the trigger. One wrong move and I'm dead." Her pleading fell on deaf ears, except for the last line.

"That much is true," Jace said, his voice low and monotone. "Jason, take her out." Liliana felt time around her slow down as a massive wall of flame rushed down the alley in her direction. As much as she didn't want to die, having just pleaded for her life, she didn't move.

_Damned if you do, damned if you don't_, she thought. She closed her eyes, waiting for the burning to consume her, but it never got the chance. The Chain Veil that she was now holding began to glow, giving off a ghostly pale light, and the spirits of the Onakke ogres trapped inside it bursted forth, defending her from the fire. At the same time, the buildings around her began shifting, Nicol Bolas's golden magic tearing them apart. Liliana took the opening and ran, living to fight another day, but was this a fight she truly wanted to finish? She realized now that the Gatewatch, the first people she truly considered friends, genuinely wanted her dead. And now, she was starting to agree with them.

...

"If it's that powerful, where did you get the power to turn it on?" Kaya asked, looking at the Interplanar Beacon.

"I summoned a massive lightning storm," Ral replied. "Opened the window and zappity zap, power on."

"'Zappity zap'? How old are you?"

"Young enough to still have a sense of humor."

"Anyway, can you turn it off?"

"I could possibly siphon off the energy, but the only way to do that effectively would be lethal, and not just for me. I'd need something to redirect the energy towards. Something large and close." Ral stood around and puzzled for a bit before sitting down and sulking. Kaya groaned, feeling like she was playing babysitter instead of warrior. Phasing through the wall, she stepped out onto the ledge of the west side of the building. She could see the portal and the citadel to her right, but it was what was in front of her that immediately had her running back inside.

"We need to take cover," she said urgently. Ral looked up, a little annoyed.

"What, have a scare when seeing the carnage out there?" he mocked.

"More like an epiphany." Ral looked out the westward window, seeing the God-Eternal Kefnet hovering just outside the bell tower, his crook coated in slick crimson. Ral gulped, then had an idea.

"You take cover. I'm gonna pop the top and bolt the bird."

"What in the _hell_ are you saying?"

"I'm going to siphon off the energy from the beacon, using some of it to take out the roof of the tower here so that I have a clear shot to hurl the rest at that thing," he explained, pointing at Kefnet. Kaya nodded, moving to the spiral staircase to use the stone wall there as protection.

"Zarek," Kaya called. Ral turned to look at her. "Don't die."

"Wasn't planning on it. I have a boyfriend I've been meaning to marry, after all." He let the pressure off the beacon, the energy flowing through it now having a way to exit the circuit. Electricity arced from the device to Ral's hand, and from Ral to the ceiling, blasting the solid stone apart in seconds. The west wall went next, with most of the walls in the room collapsing along with it. Kefnet took notice of the light display Ral was putting on and moved closer, seemingly equal parts curious and bloodthirsty. A racket rang out from below them, and Kaya saw Eternals climbing the stairs to the top of the tower.

"Hurry up and blast him!"

"Not yet. He's not close enough." Kaya looked down, seeing hundreds of undead swarming up towards them. Ral was clearly in pain trying to contain the energy of the beacon as Kefnet approached.

"We need to get out of here. You ready?"

"Almost...NOW!" Ral lashed his arms forward, massive amounts of lightning surging through the air, the bolts connecting with the ibis-headed god in less than a second, remaining connected for several. Kefnet made a sound between a shriek and a gurgle as the bolt blasted his left arm off and began singeing the surrounding area. The god retreated and the Interplanar Beacon shut off. But as a man of science, Ral saw where no plan was perfect. They now had no defense against the Dreadhorde soldiers that were beginning to pour into the damaged room. They quickly surrounded the two planeswalkers, slowly pushing them to the edge. Kaya whipped around, looking Ral in the eye.

"Go find Tomik," she said. She pushed Ral off the edge, letting the Eternals phase through her, hoping that they wouldn't try to follow him over.

Ral plummeted through the air, falling several stories before colliding with the lowest roof below him, and then crashing through two stories of wood and stone before slamming onto the ground. He lay there, sprawled out and gasping for breath. He could tell that he was covered in bruises and had several broken bones, as well as a sprained ankle, which was the least of his worries. Right now, he was more concerned that he seemed to have taken out several structural beams, and that the building was starting to cave in. "Not a good day for Ravnican infrastructure," he remarked as he attempted to stand himself upright and hobbled to the exit, only to discover it was blocked.

"I'll clear that out real quick," someone called from behind him, and he turned to see Jason's young elf friend, Syllia, her blue and green dress ripped, stained, and dirty. She extended her arm, and several small metal tendrils reached out slicing through and removing wood from the blocked exit. As promised, the door was clear in a couple of seconds, and the elf supported Ral as they made their way out of the building, escaping it just before it collapsed completely. The two were almost relieved if it weren't for the massive army they had just walked into, along with...the sound of swine?

...

Pain shot through Chandra's leg as she sat up, her ears still ringing and vision blurry. Feeling something trying to grab her, she lit herself aflame, swatting at them until she could tell who it was, seeing the hazy outline of Jace. Letting her vision and hearing return to normal, she accepted his help up and surveyed the damage. Saheeli had used the surrounding thopters to create a metal ball around herself and was currently resting in it, having suffered only minor bruises, Lazav and Dovin were nowhere to be found, and then her eyes landed on Jason and Teferi. Jason was on his knees, sobbing while Teferi kept watch over him, allowing him time to grieve. Unsure of what had happened, Chandra began making her way over to the other pyromancer, only for her to stumble as the pain shot through her left leg again, pain so extreme that her vision filled with spots. Looking down, she noticed a large metal rod protruding from her knee, a mixture of blood and rust running down her leg. Her breath caught at the sight, but that still didn't prepare her for what she saw next, now having a clear view of why Jason was mourning. There lay Lavinia, eyes glazed and motionless, with blood pooling around her head and a thopter embedded in her chest, now a mangled mix of metal and charred flesh. Jace and Saheeli stepped closer, catching sight of the mutilated corpse, each one wearing an expression of shock and horror, all the while Eternals closed in as Teferi finally began feeling the effects of exhaustion kicking in, his chronomancy weakening. Jason opened his eyes, now glowing a brilliant white as his air stood up with flame of the same color. He got up, almost in slow motion as grief turned to rage. He roared as he fired pillars of flame into the oncoming hordes, streams of white-hot fire so concentrated that they could have been solid objects, hot enough to melt the lazotep off of any Eternal that got within thirty feet of them and incinerated anything within five feet. Chandra watched in awe before deciding to get involved as well, gritting her teeth as she gripped the rod, quickly and painfully yanking it out of her knee. Several beasts came rushing past her, illusions of deadly creatures. She turned to Jace, trying to figure out where he had seen some of these creatures, only to find that he had cast a simple cloaking spell over himself and nothing else. She didn't have to think about where the illusions had come from, as their source stepped up. Adelina walked onto the plaza, one hand in the air as illusion ran from her into the Eternals, tearing them apart. She also had two Eternals behind her, their normally empty sockets glowing light blue. Chandra was about to war the young girl when she waved her hand forward, and the Eternals rushed into the horde of their kin, hacking and slashing at Adelina's command.

...

When you can't effectively use your sural due to the magic that allows it to act as a blade getting dispersed on contact, necromancy is a good alternative. Something Joselyn decided to keep in mind for the future. She moved towards the mass of zombies, her own, that she was now calling Yakko and Wakko, slashing through as many as they could. She made sure to steer clear of Jason, who's fire was so potent that it resembled Iron Man's repulsor rays, instead focusing on clearing a path to the front lines. While she was taking out Eternals with ease, there were still far more of them than she could handle, and it didn't help when thopters began raining down around her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Dovin Baan bringing the small machines down from the sky, attempting to cut off any escape for the planeswalkers. Unfortunately for him, Joselyn found this more annoying than anything, sending one of her Eternals back towards Dovin. The vedalken was too busy engaging a furious Chandra to notice as the undead khenra reached out and grabbed the top of his head, crushing his skull as it drained his spark. Dovin writhed around in the Eternal's grasp as he was drained of his essence and fluids, shrivelling into another dried husk. _One problem dealt with. Now to get to the front lines_, she thought, mentally groaning at the army amassed before her, now double the size. "That's going to be difficult to get through," she groaned.

"Then be glad you are not alone," someone said from behind her. Joselyn turned to see Huatli riding up on the back of a dinosaur. The warrior-poet raised her blade as her mount roared. Joselyn smiled, unfurling her sural, the pair racing into the lazotep-coated army. While the sural was only good for moving Eternals out of the way, it was enough to clear a path, with Huatli cutting down those that remained. Her newfound vigor with the assistance of Huatli and seeing Gideon ahead of her, soaring through the sky on a pegasus with angels, made clearing the Eternals easier than it had ever been, and she found herself up beside Angrath and Kasmina in no time at all. And then she noticed the god.

...

Gideon had been trying to land a blow on Rhonas for quite some time, each time getting swatted away with the zombie god's staff. He could tell that Promise was beginning to wear out, and his arm was getting sore from holding Blackblade aloft. Aurelia dove to strike the cobra-headed god's shoulder, Rhonas turning his attention to the angel. Gideon noticed the obvious opening, taking it while Rhonas was distracted, but it was clear that Aurelia was having no effect on him as he turned back to Gideon, the head of the staff clear in the planeswalker's field of vision. He attempted to dodge, but Promise was worn too thin, unable to bank fast enough, the staff slamming into the pair. They tumbled through the air, the pegasus barely able to steady itself before they crashed into a nearby belltower. Gideon raised Blackblade, prepared to try for one more strike when he heard someone shouting from the plaza below. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" he heard Joselyn scream, looking to see her in the center of the plaza; Angrath, Huatli, and Kasmina all surrounding her in a protective circle. Her body radiated pale blue light as she formed an illusion, a massive illusion copy of Rhonas, staff pointed forward in an offensive stance. The real god hissed, lifting his own staff, ready for battle.

**A/N: The Ravnica arc continues. More people are dead, more people are injured, and more people are doing relevant things. What do y'all think will become of Joselyn and her illusionary god against the real thing in an enchanted carapace of near indestructible metal? Also, for anyone wondering, Jason and Syllia are both OCs from my currently on-hold story Heartfire, which can be found under the Magic The Gathering category. And since I don't have any snazzy Card Kingdom sponsorships to voice, that's all from me. Driver out.**


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44: Home**

It was weird having only four people around. Once Evan was gone, Ben took up the job as the cook, and Amber was the hunter. Liana worked to find Morrigan, or be a part-time combat trainer for Jared since he and Cosmo weren't able to actually hurt each other.

Right now, Ben and Amber were talking while Jared listened in by chilling in Ben's head while the conversation went on. Cosmo had explained doing this was dangerous, since Ben could unknowingly close off the exit and leave Jared's body an empty vessel, but Jared didn't care. How could he, really?

"So Amber," Ben asked, "What do you enjoy outside of combat?"

"I hate combat." Amber replied, "If I liked it, I would have offered to train Jared. Fighting is just part of my nature, being Okte and all." She turned away, "I personally want a simple life as humans have. I get that here most of the time when Morrigan isn't around. I want proof that I'm not some bloodthirsty killer like most of my subspecies. I want to love something, and be loved in return, no matter my scars and no matter my past. Just me, that thing, and my mother—assuming she wants me."

Jared snapped back into his own mind, only to groan as he noticed he was floating when he should have just been sitting in the grass.

"So?" Cosmo asked, "We have five minutes before Liana gets here. What do we need?"

"I think a puppy or something would work. But other than Hana's hellhound, Ramsey, I don't know much about dogs."

"Same here. Last time I saw one was ten millennia ago."

"Kelly!" Kelly appeared, and Jared was a little startled by how fast that was.

"Ya? I was a little busy going through Joselyn's file to see if I can pinpoint her location."

"Okay," Jared was relieved Kelly had an idea of how to find Joselyn, but still needed his help, "Are afterlife puppies a thing?"

"Yes, otherwise Fawn wouldn't have a job. What breed?" It still amazed Jared that Kelly indeed was the friend who didn't ask questions. He half expected that Kelly would help him bury a body, no questions asked. Though this was Zoe's father, so that made sense.

"Uh..." he shrugged, "You choose?" Then Kelly left, appearing mere seconds later with a little golden thing.

"I think it's a golden retriever, but I don't know since I grabbed the first thing I saw. Does it work?"

"Yup." Cosmo took it, "I'll give it to Ben to give to Amber. Tell Liana I went to get some blood." He ran off, and Liana came into the clearing a few moments later.

"Ready?" She frowned, "Where's Cosmo?"

"Off to get blood."

Liana shrugged, "Okay." Then she had him pinned to the ground before he could even blink. He sometimes forgot she had that natural Fae speed. He let himself take advantage of his size in comparison to her, throwing her off him and getting up.

After about five minutes of fighting, with Jared coming out the victor, Cosmo came back with a travel mug full of blood, "Liana May, go harder on him. But don't go into Territorial Fae Bitch mode. Liana got off Jared and turned to her partner slowly,

"Territorial Fae Bitch?" She asked with a warning tone. Cosmo shrugged,

"Safiya flirted with me back when she first arrived, and you ripped her throat out." Liana stomped her foot down in a manner that made Jared realize that Liana and Cosmo really were perfect for each other with tempers like that.

"Fine! Maybe I am a little territorial, but unless you're fucking Jared, I'm not going territorial right now." Just the idea of that had Jared pulling out a knife and stabbing himself in the brain.

He woke up to both Cosmo and Liana staring at him judgmentally.

"What? I still need a glass of brain bleach to get that comment out of my head."

"Will you not do that again if I wipe it from your memory?"

"Yes."

"Done."

Jared glared, "You did nothing."

"Exactly!" He got whacked upside the head, "Never give people permission to go into your head and change things! If I wanted to, I could have destroyed your mind and made you my puppet with no will of your own! And need I remind you that you have every power in existence other than what was granted to other stone wielders, with psychic shit only being your affinity! What if I was evil?"

"I'm still not convinced you aren't." Cosmo shrugged, knowing that after the Cinderella incident he couldn't really deny that.

"Fine, but you know what I mean." He then pulled out two goblets, "And now here is a test of your mind reading skills." A table appeared, and they both sat down. One goblet was gold, the other silver, and both had an identical liquid. "This looks like two goblets of pixie wine, am I right?" Jared nodded, and Liana smirked, "Well it is, just that one is light pixie wine and the other is dark pixie wine—which will make you high as fuck, and have one hell of a hangover. Your job is to poke around in Liana May's and my head to figure out which goblet has the good wine."

Jared looked at the two goblets for a second, before peeking into Liana's mind. It took a second with her mental shields, but he busted through them and looked around. She didn't seem to know anything for certain about the goblets, but she did point out that Cosmo got more of a buzz from the dark wine, and wouldn't mind drinking it.

Then he looked in Cosmo's mind—or rather tried to. He hadn't tried looking into Cosmo's mind before, lest he face brutal repercussion, but here Cosmo was downright letting him in, or close enough since those mental shields were much stronger than what he had seen on others. It took five minutes to get in, but he did manage.

But he didn't find anything about the wine, but did find himself falling into a memory.

Flashback

After nine thousand years of slavery and captivity, Cosmo was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point. Most of the thousands of prisoners here got treated the same—though an extra dozen guards always walked Cosmo to and from each destination below the mountain. This was expected for the most powerful inmate, which was a title he still claimed even with a fraction of his power. But what he did not usually expect, however, was the massive Fae warrior at his side—as there was right now.

They entered a particularly long hallway, silent save for their footsteps. Though the male grasping him was tall and fit, Cosmo could see none of the features concealed by the hood. Another intimidation tactic, he supposed, much like the black clothes—but nine thousand years with the worst of the worst had him rather jaded in the fear department, so it was a laughable attempt. His head shifted in Cosmo's direction, and got flashed with a grin. The male looked forward again, his iron grip tightening,

It was insulting, he supposed, even if he didn't know what was happening or why this male—no more than a baby by comparison to him—had grabbed him from his cell, but not to take him to be whipped or mine deeper below the mountain or carve more cells.

His ears pricked when the male introduced himself as Henry Carpenter-Pendragon, which was a rather unusual name for a Fae, which led Cosmo to the conclusion this male was mere DemiFae. Sure, this male was supposedly Captain of the Guard for the Fae monarch, but that just made him even more confused.

But still…he knew from prisoner gossip that the Fae Queen was also a member of the death council. He hadn't let himself taste fear in a long ass time. He always told himself "You will not be afraid" and it was the difference between breaking and bending, from shattering in the darkness. Not that he'd let the captain know any of that.

He examined the gloved hand holding his arm. The dark leather almost matched the dirt of his skin. Cosmo adjusted his torn and filthy tunic with his free hand and held in a sigh. He hadn't seen the sun since he was locked away so long ago, and he was frightfully pale underneath all the soot. It was true that he had been attractive once, both in this form and _especially_ in his true form, but it didn't matter now, did it?

They kept walking up the stairs, and Cosmo knew full well not to hope they were headed to the surface—to freedom. So he studied the stranger's finely crafted sword. Must be the great Excalibur the sorcerers were talking about maybe thirty years ago.

"You're a long way from Zariya, Captain." He said, clearing his throat, "Did you come with that army I heard clunking around a couple hours ago? Or is it the realm of the dead that has interest in little old me?" He peered into the darkness beneath the captain's hood and saw nothing.

"What do you care about the armies of Zariya?" He questioned.

"Nothing." Cosmo replied, shrugging. The captain growled in annoyance, which got Cosmo annoyed and wondering what the blood of DemiFae tasted like.

"Don't you look at me like that," he warned, and his hand drifted towards Excalibur. Cosmo hid his smirk this time.

"Where are we going again?" Cosmo asked sweetly, brushing a strand of matted hair out of his face. When there was no reply, he clenched his jaw.

The halls echoed too loudly for an attack to work without alerting the whole mountain and the prisoner gossip spreading like wildfire, and then they'd throw him in with the Queen of the Nameless. He shuddered at the idea, having to choke back some bile.

They entered a hallway with iron chandeliers, with lanterns glowing so bright that there was no shadows to hide in.

Cosmo knew the fact he had any of his will left was nothing short of impossible. Most prisoners broke within mere days. The Oracle was an esteemed prisoner, and even she was on the brink of snapping. He himself was using a mask of arrogance to hide just how broken he was underneath, secretly hoping for an end to his miserable existence. Maybe he would have been better off at the chopping block, not that he would ever give Cradh—

He actually let himself be sick even thinking the name, with how vile it felt in his mind. That rage was another factor in why he wasn't broken, because he wanted revenge. Sweet revenge, to see that bastard pay. Sometimes he fantasized about making Cradh suffer in this prison for eternity, see how if _he_ could last nine thousand years with barely any of his power without being a hollow drooling mess.

3,285,739 days he had been stuck here. So it was reasonable that he wanted to make those who had wronged him pay.

Maybe it was wrong that his fantasies of making Cradh suffer, of tearing him apart, were what kept him stable on those bad days in this place, but it wasn't like there was anything anyone could do about it. In this state, he knew he wouldn't win, but it never hurt to fantasize.

He found himself thinking as they continued the walk. Was he finally to be killed? Sickness coiled in his stomach, since that would mean Cradh would see him like this and think he had won. Oh if only he had his full powers, then he could punch that son of a bitch into next millennia.

The captain's grip tightened until it hurt. He yanked Cosmo closer, but his feet seemed made of lead and he pulled against the male. "You'd rather stay here?" Henry asked, sounding faintly amused.

"Perhaps if you told me what this was about, I wouldn't be so inclined to resist."

"You'll find out soon enough." His palms became sweaty. Yup, he was going to die. It had come to that at last.

The doors groaned open to reveal a throne room. A glass chandelier occupied most of the ceiling, and Cosmo debated using his remaining magic to shatter it and make a break for it. They were close enough to the surface that maybe…

No. That wouldn't work. But at least he'd go down swinging, assuming he even had enough power left to do that simple thing. Blood seemed to be his only source of fuel nowadays, and it wasn't like they had a lot of that under the mountain.

"In here," the captain growled, and shoved him with his free hand, finally releasing him. Cosmo stumbled, his calloused feet slipping on the smooth floor as he straightened himself. He looked up to see another six guards appear. Twenty guards and the captain. He swallowed tightly.

Lightheaded and immensely heavy at once, Cosmo faced the room. On the ornate throne sat a beautiful woman, likely Fae if her unnatural beauty said anything. His heart stopped as everyone bowed to the female.

He was standing in front of the Queen of the Fae.

"Your highness," said the captain of the guard. He straightened from a low bow and removed his hood, revealing shoulder-length chestnut hair and sun-kissed skin, and piercing sapphire eyes like the oceans Cosmo remembered in his faintest memories. But he found himself surprised at how young the captain was, no older than eighteen.

"This is he?" the Fae Queen asked, and Cosmo's head whipped around as the captain nodded. Both of them stared at the prisoner, waiting for him to bow. When he remained upright, Henry shifted on his feet, and the Queen glanced at her captain before lifting her chin a bit higher.

Bow to her indeed! If he was going to die, he would not spend his final moments groveling in submission!

Thundering steps issued from behind him, and someone grabbed him by the neck. Cosmo managed to note it was one of the guards before being thrown to the icy marble floor. Pain slammed through his face, light splintering his vision. His arms ached as his bound hands kept his joints from properly aligning. Though he tried to stop them, tears of pain welled.

"_This_ is the way you greet your Queen," the guard snapped.

Cosmo hissed, baring his teeth as he twisted his head to look at the kneeling stone bastard…if he could move his arm just a few inches, he could throw the guard off balance and grab his sword… The shackles dug into his stomach, and fizzing, boiling rage turned his face scarlet.

After a too-long moment, the Queen spoke, "I don't quite comprehend why you'd force someone to bow when the purpose of the gesture is to display allegiance and respect." Her words were coated with boredom, but Cosmo noted genuine concern hidden there. This was new. He tried to look at her, but only saw bare feet and the ends of a violet gown. "It's clear _you_ respect me, but why should you put such effort into forcing one who has been wrongfully damned to have the same opinion? You and I know very well he has no love for the council, and no care for my people. So perhaps your objective is to humiliate him." She paused, and he could have sworn her eyes fell on his face, "But I think he's had enough of that."

Cosmo peeled his cheek from the marble, but lay on the floor until the guards were dismissed and left. Once they were gone, he rose and frowned at the imprint of grit he had left behind on the otherwise spotless floor, and the clank of his shackles echoing in the otherwise silent room. But he had been here for longer than this female had existed, so being dirty was the least of his worries. Gathering up his pride, he met the queen's eyes.

The queen smiled at him, shockingly kind and even a hint of empathy—not sympathy, _empathy_. Strange—even if it was a polished smile, it didn't reek of trained charm. Sitting on the throne, he noticed she was much smaller than expected, not some godlike Queen of the Fae. Her red cloak fell gracefully around her and her throne. Her eyes were that of rich chocolate, and the way it complimented her dark hair yet contrasted her snow white skin made him pause. She was achingly beautiful, and she couldn't be older than sixteen! Then he noticed she was dead, which meant she could be older, but he could tell she was only ten years older _tops_.

_Royals aren't supposed to be beautiful! They're sniveling, stupid, repulsive creatures! This one…How unfair of her to be royal _and_ beautiful!_

He shifted on his feet as she frowned, surveying him in turn. "I thought I asked you to clean him up." She said to the captain, who stepped forward. He'd forgotten there was anyone else in the room. He looked at his rags and stained skin, and he couldn't suppress the twinge go shame. What a miserable state for a being of former omnipotence!

His face warmed as the captain said, "I didn't want to keep you waiting, your majesty." The queen sighed, shooing him away a little as she straightened, keeping her attention on Cosmo, "We haven't had the pleasure of an introduction. I am Freya, Queen of the Fae and Guardian of the Fae Afterlife."

"The Lady of the Lake?" Cosmo wondered aloud, "So you got promoted." He thanked himself for listening to gossip. Freya nodded,

"Yes. Though I admit it's not the most fun job, ruling over the Sidhe. The rest I can handle, but those blue annoyances _really_ get on my nerves." She got off her throne and looked him up and down, and he noticed he was a little taller than her, "After nine millennia, you seem to be more or less alive. I wonder how that's even possible when the average sanity expectancy is a few weeks."

"Quite a mystery, I'm sure." He readjusted his shackles like they were gloves, "Maybe dear old Cradh has the answer." He noticed something change in Freya's eyes, becoming curious,

"You know you are a slave and prisoner under this mountain. Yet you never tried to escape?"

A slow, wicked smile spread across his lips, "Once."

The queen's brows rose, "I wasn't told that." The captain came back in, likely summoned psychically.

"The chief overseer informed me there was one incident, thirty months—"

"Thirty-six months." Cosmo corrected.

"Three years," Henry said, "after he arrived, he attempted to flee." Cosmo waited for the rest of the story, and was put out that the captain was done. How was he supposed to rub it in Cradh's face if nobody told the story?

"That's not even the best part! Escaping this prison is a suicide mission, there is no hope of succeeding. The sentries could shoot a rat from two hundred meters away."

"But you're alive." Freya's expression changed again from stoic to a little impressed, "What happened?"

His platinum eyes turned cold and hard, "I snapped."

"He killed his overseer, twenty-three sentries, and over a hundred prisoners before they caught him. He was a _finger's tip _from the exit before fatigue was his downfall and they knocked him out."

"Do you know how far the exit is from the bottom of this hellhole?" Cosmo added on, "Hundreds if not thousands of miles underground. Captain Carpenter, how far do prisoners make it when they try to escape?"

"Three feet." The captain muttered, "The guards shoot a prisoner down before they make it three feet. You, Cosmo, knew it was suicide."

"Yes. But someone ordered I be kept alive, so I can experience this place in all its horrors—I blame Cradh. And killing those prisoners was a mercy kill for them, with how broken they were."

Freya actually looked a little fearful, but returned to calm, walking behind him so she could see his back. He wondered if she was trusting or stupid, since it wouldn't take much for him to whirl around and crush her windpipe with his shackles, not that it would do much since she was already dead. It still might be worth it just to see the look on that captain's face. He could feel the queen become nauseous at the state of him.

"You're quite remarkable, you know that? It shows in your eyes, even without this context." His eyes, the only thing he had left of his true self, and he knew these years had faded them greatly. They used to be able to light up his cell, but they hadn't done that in who knew how long.

He was still within strangling distance of her. It wouldn't take much to bite hard into that captain, get some blood, and make her pay. She worked with the vile creature who sentenced him to a slow, agonizing death, just for existing. His self-control was balanced on a fragile edge—dancing along a cliff.

"I demand to know." He said after a moment, "I'm not an idiot, though I was hapless enough to be captured due to a neat little power Cradh has which puts my heritage against me. You've been testing me to see if I am physically and mentally sound. Well, I know I am still sane, despite what my escape thousands of years ago might suggest. So I demand to be told why you're here, if I am not destined for the chopping block."

Freya softened, "Clever. I want nothing of you, I have simply learned who you are and that you were locked here wrongfully. I am here to set you free. I do not have the power to return you to your true form, but I can get you out of here."

No way. This wasn't real. This was a cruel joke from Cradh, just a sick joke. This wasn't possible. Cradh would never let him out of here. Kahu was the lucky one by striking a deal to get out, but nobody was _ever_ freed of this place!

"W…What about Cradh?" He asked, his facade of confidence gone, leaving him curious and a little nervous.

"Don't worry about that." She held his filthy hand, not caring that her own hands were now contaminated by the gutter rat.

For the rest of the walk to the exit, Cosmo was convinced this was a joke. This was just a way to try lowering his guard and he'd see Cradh with an axe to finish him off.

But when he stepped outside for the first time in so long, felt the grass so blessedly soft on his callused feet, he knew this was real. It was over. This nightmare was finally over.

The dam burst free, and all that pain he had been feeling came flooding to the surface as he started bawling on the grass, taking in all the wonderful sights and smells. He didn't care that his eyes and skin burned from the exposure to natural light—it wasn't the real sun, he knew that, but for now he didn't care—he was free of that prison. He didn't have his true form back, but for now and maybe for the next thousand years, he could wait.

Freya knelt down beside him, lowering herself to his level in a way he would never expect of a queen, "You're free. It's okay." He started crying harder,

"Thank you, thank you, thank you…" it was a whisper, but it was the only time in so long he didn't feel just despair and loathing.

Present Day

Jared fell backwards, noticing that both goblets were empty. Had he just seen Cosmo's…he had seen what Cosmo had seen, felt everything physically and mentally. It was like he _was_ Cosmo in that memory. He also noticed his own rage towards Kahu was nothing, absolutely _nothing_ compared to Cosmo's detest of Cradh.

Cosmo stared at him blankly, but he couldn't sense what the ancient creature was thinking, and he wondered what had changed in the last thousand years. Just imagining being in that prison was hell. Jared wondered how long he would last down there, but knew the chances of it being as long as Cosmo survived was slim to none.

All those emotions he felt in just that one memory explained a lot. He still nearly resented Cosmo for keeping him prisoner to the bargain, but he realized this could be a whole lot worse. And, in Cosmo's place, he would probably do the same.

"It took years." Cosmo said after a moment, "To train myself, in all my power, to break into someone's mind like that. But you are extraordinary indeed. No wonder the living realm worships you."

"Huh? No they don't."

"Well, it is your DeathDay, isn't it? Maybe as my gift to you, I will show you. Celebrations are still being held." Jared couldn't believe how time had passed. He had been here for two years. It had both flown by, and went agonizingly slow. Over nearly two years he had been training with Cosmo. He had to admit he had gotten much stronger, and was close to mastering many of his powers. They didn't touch the ones he planned to have removed.

Liana crossed her arms, "Go ahead, Jared." Jared looked to Cosmo,

"I swear, Cosmo, if I start seeing shit and have a hard time. NO MORE CINDERELLA BULLSHIT!" Cosmo shrugged, and they found themselves at a celebration.

Festive colors filled the town, with everyone in party clothing. Children danced in the square with their parents. Music rang loud and true.

Jared sensed Hana's magical signature, and realized she was stealing cakes while hidden in the shadows. Since there was a mural of the six stone wielders along the church, he understood why she was hiding.

"Oh fuck no." Jared muttered, "One of the only things I liked about being with with the Carpenter family was that I didn't have to deal with being famous! I don't want fame, I just want to be a normal guy."

"Well, you ended The Tragedy. So of course people worship you." Cosmo answered with a chuckle, "To the people, you are known as Jared Cursebreaker."

"Oh great," his voice was dripping with sarcasm, "Is Zoe to blame for this party?"

"No. These parties go around all over the multiverse. Innistrad and Alynthi and the only safe places I can think of."

"Alynthi?"

"Your family created a world of their own, which wound up with the name Alynthi."

"Why do you know this?" Cosmo turned,

"I have a cauldron in my room that allows me to see these things." Jared sighed,

"Can we check on Joselyn or Camille? I want to make sure they're okay."

"Joselyn, no, since I have no idea where she is. I've been looking, and it seems she has purposefully concealed herself from magical tracking. But we can check on your mate."

They arrived in the foyer of what seemed to be a palace of some sort. He saw Camille, looking much healthier than when he saw her last. She was talking to someone,

"Well, I've been feeling a little better since our last meeting," she said, "I think Otar might do it soon, so that gives me hope…" she frowned, looking directly in Jared's direction with wide eyes. He assumed the woman she was talking to right now was some sort of therapist.

The therapist turned towards Jared as well, "Miss Blackwell, are you okay?" Camille shook herself, and Jared realized she could see him, or felt the same pull he felt towards her right now.

"We should probably go." Cosmo said, and Jared landed back in the afterlife. Liana was nowhere to be found.

"At least she's okay." Jared said quietly, "Who's Otar?"

"Your lich. If he's gonna relent soon, that means it's time to go get the Ouroboros! You should be ready to get it. Just talk to Ben tonight, and work on Liana May. Then you're off!"

"So the Ouroboros…" Jared wondered aloud, "What does it do exactly? What's that final defense you've been so worried about?"

"I wouldn't know." Cosmo replied, "I've never been in the artifact room since Cradh would throw me to Kraull if I tried."

"Kraull?"

"His champion. If I was at my full strength, he would be nothing compared to me, but right now he would destroy me."

Jared hesitated, "Are you sure Cradh is as bad as you think?" Cosmo turned slowly,

"Give me a good reason why he wouldn't be."

"Maybe you don't have the full story? Freya mentioned the council makes choices like that by a vote."

"He's the one to took control of me and next thing I knew I was being bound to this form _by him_ and locked in that prison _by him_!" Jared found himself wanting to learn the truth about what had happened. Having seen that memory which branched off into different memories, he knew what Cosmo was remembering was genuine, but he also felt there was so much more to the story. If Cradh had wanted Cosmo there, why didn't he punish Freya for letting him go, and throw Cosmo back in?

It was that one detail that left Jared thinking Cradh wasn't evil as believed. It had been mentioned multiple times that while Judge was technically the leader, Cradh could very easily get his way and had scared the hell out of every other member. So if he wanted Cosmo still locked up, it seemed that even if everyone else disagreed, he could win that argument. Jared supposed the council had been different ten thousand years ago, so maybe he wouldn't have been able to dominate then, but what about now?

And there was clearly something stopping Cradh from freeing Cosmo entirely. Yes, Cosmo was guilty of no crime, but that bitterness and rage after nine millennia could have easily turned to something dangerous if he was completely restored immediately after release. So it made sense, but why not now? The bargain couldn't be stopped, so that made a little sense but…

"I should go talk to Ben." Jared said, walking past Cosmo calmly.

"You passed the test, just so you know." Cosmo called after him, and Jared smiled a little as he left. But he waited before talking to Ben.

"Freya." Freya appeared,

"Yes?"

"Who is Cradh? I do not think he is as awful as Cosmo sees him." Freya nodded,

"Not much is known about Cradh. He is the only member left of the very first council—its said that Kahu killed the other six back when he was actually extremely powerful—and has been around at least as long as planeswalkers have. He is definitely the strongest on the council, with Morrigan being a close second to our current knowledge. He's the only one who didn't even consider trying the rehabilitation method instead of straight punishment for the wicked. I would not say he's evil. When you don't piss him off, he's pretty laid back, and it takes a lot to anger him—unless it's Kraull, it doesn't take much to anger him when Kraull's involved."

Jared thought about this, "What about Cosmo? If he's the one to have locked Cosmo there, why didn't he stop you from freeing him?" Freya smiled a little,

"I still remember that day. It was my first month, and I had been going through records to see what kind of crime counted to get an entires species put in the prison—since I really hate the Sidhe—and I found Cosmo. There was nothing under where his crime was, so I asked Cradh. I will never unsee what I saw in his torture realm, but he just shrugged, saying Cosmo was guilty of nothing other than having the potential of being a threat, and I could go free him if I wanted. I asked him why he didn't go, and he said very boredly that he was the last being _ever_ that Cosmo would want to see."

"Well he's not wrong, because I'm pretty sure Cosmo would have tried to skin him." Jared frowned, "So Cradh basically told you to go free him."

"Pretty much." He turned back to the hill where he could see Cosmo watching them talk. Did Cosmo know that side of the story? Something told Jared he didn't know that part.

Freya left, and Jared went to find Ben, who was grinning.

"She's gone." He announced, "Played with her, and she was happy. So…ready to talk?"

Jared nodded with a nervous smile. What would it take? His goal was to tell as much of the truth as possible without revealing the bad suicidal stuff. "Yeah."

They walked along the river, and Ben looked up to Jared, "How did you meet her?"

"I met her when her sister and father picked her up, realizing she existed. I didn't think much of her at first, until she worked undercover at the age of eight, and proudly announced to her father that she ate someone's soul. I immediately got _Supernatural_ flashbacks and turned right around. After realizing she didn't have the mark of cain, I wasn't too worried. That night, I found her crying in her tent the night before war. Camille, my mate, and I went to a world we both hated and sparred, training for the next day. Then the fight happened and I got banished to the Dark Realm for a bit."

"At least she got out of that place…" Ben chuckled. Jared nodded,

"Yeah. When I got back, they had lost one of her sisters and her father was not in a state to care for a child. Since I liked Joselyn enough since she liked my music, I took care of her. She's a good kid, and she found a home on Blight for a little under six months…then the Enchantress possessing her attacked me. I was in a coma for an entire year, and she took it hard. But I came back, and we went on a quest to get rid of the enchantress."

"Did you succeed?" he nodded,

"Yes. Her father sacrificed himself to get the enchantress out. I was about to do it, but Kahu chose him, unaware of all I could do. But Joselyn lived through it all. I don't know where she is now, since I've been dead for two years, but I'll find her." Ben smiled,

"Jared, promise me that you will take care of her for me, and tell her I love her very much." Jared nodded,

"I promise. She's like my daughter, and I would die for her." In a sense, he had. And he would do it again.

Ben hugged him tightly, "Thank you. I'll miss you, Jared," and he was gone.

Jared smiled, and accepted his fate when he felt Liana's death glare behind him. He just barely managed to dodge her ripping his throat out with her teeth. Looking at her, she had practically gone feral, her brunette hair messy and her eyes wild. Her elongated canine teeth were practically fangs.

He had to dodge her relentless attacks for the better part of three minutes before he got the chance to grab her forearms.

"Liana, calm down!" Jared insisted, squeezing her forearms and forcefully calming her down. The closer he got to her, as she became a close friend, he had been dreading this conversation more and more. He saw the hurt and rage and betrayal in her eyes.

"Liar! Traitor! Murderer!" She spat these words at him, still ready to rip his throat out.

"Liana, let me explain—"

"What is there to explain?! Two years, Jared! You've been lying to us for two years! We trusted you! _I_ trusted you!"

"I know. But you don't have the full story. Cosmo doesn't have the full story." He released her forearms, holding out a hand, "Let me explain, and you can rip my throat out if you don't believe me."

"Oh believe me, Jared Brock." She snarled, "Not even your mate will recognize what'll be left of you." Judging by the fact she was holding a sharp ass knife, he didn't doubt that what would happen next would be painful if she didn't believe him. He accepted death, and knew he would recover here, but he wasn't masochistic enough to not avoid getting the shit beaten out of him.

He gestured for her to follow him down the river, making sure to quickly grab some pixie wine and give her a bottle. It would calm her down and make her more willing to listen. Was this drugging her? Yes. But he also wasn't in the mood to be disemboweled.

"So who are you." Liana asked bitterly, refusing to look at him, "Do you work for Morrigan?"

"Uh….kind of? Morrigan is my aunt-in-law, but I am the unofficial-champion of Queen Freya. But no, I don't work for either. Wyrm is proof of that."

Over the course of an hour, he explained everything about the afterlife to her. Freya and Morrigan joined them as well with this little conversation, and showed Liana that her siblings were at peace in the true afterlife.

"You know, Liana," Jared looked to Liana once they were alone. She looked shellshocked, her eyes red and puffy, "You were a key factor in this whole thing working."

"Why? I didn't want them to…"

"Maybe. But remember I had to pull a lot of strings to make this work. And it wouldn't have even worked if you hadn't helped them to live again. Remember Chiso? He was damn near catatonic when he arrived, so clearly I wouldn't have been able to help him."

Liana sighed, "Guess I'm good for something in my existence." Jared sighed,

"So…are you going to be beating the hell out of me? I've accepted my fate." He luckily didn't have enough time to react when she punched him square in the jaw. Since he didn't have time to react, his muscles didn't tense and he didn't break his jaw.

"That's what you get for lying to me for two years!"

"I deserve that." He mused, spatting out some blood, "Now are we good?" Liana finished off the bottle and crossed her arms.

"Are we good? No. Am I going to torture you until you're begging for obliteration? No." Good enough.

Cosmo came over, and Liana glared at him, "You knew about this?"

"I guessed. But since I wasn't certain and I know Cradh is still on the council, I had no plans on saying anything. If any of our friends were planeswalkers, I would have refused since I don't want anyone I care about around the vile creature."

"Cosmo, I don't think Cradh is—"

"Unless I get a legit reason to think he isn't, I'm going to continue hating him with every single fiber of my being."

"Fair enough." Jared looked to where the sun had long since set, and the crescent moon and high in the sky, "So what do we do now? Oh right," he turned to Liana, "I'm going back to the land of the living. If you truly want to help people, come back with me."

Liana hesitated, "I've been dead for forty-two years."

"So? Cosmo was locked in a prison for nine thousand years, and he adjusted fine. Cosmo will join us in eight years." As much as Jared didn't like Cosmo, he had a feeling the ancient creature wasn't nearly as insufferable when he was free. Hell, maybe he would even be pleasant.

"Liana May, you should go." Liana nodded, brushing back a strand of hair.

"O…Okay." She looked at the school, "It has grown tedious, existing here for forty years." Cosmo raised his goblet,

"Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow Jared will either retrieve the mirror, or he will be so broken that I need to put him out of his misery and let go of the bargain."

"So win-win." Cosmo shrugged,

"I guess?"

OoOoO

There was blood everywhere.

As before, Jared stood between two bloody locations once he entered the artifact room and tried to approach the mirror, except this time the second one was Joselyn instead of Gina, from the night his daughter had tried to kill herself. He could feel the dark magic roving above him.

The moment that darkness swept around him, putting out his flame, it began eating away at the willpower that had brought him back here to seize the mirror, return to his family, gain some of his humanity back, get the hell away from Cosmo for a bit.

While he stared, he heard a voice. Ladybug's voice. Coward, couldn't even kill me yourself.

He yelped as claws severed clean through his braid as it whipped him around. He knew he had to reach the heart of this to conquer it. Not that it was pleasant, but he didn't fight as the illusion dragged him down into endless darkness, with no beginning or end. It was the abyss that he had just free-fallen into. Either what happened next would break him beyond repair, or he would retrieve the Ouroboros and return to life.

There was no sound, only the vague sense of going toward a bottom that might not exist, or it might mean his true end.

The blackness was rippling now, and Jared found himself on his station of awakening.

He lived through all of his worst memories, each worse than the next, tumbling through the maelstrom of moments that had haunted him for years.

He heard voices, saying he was a waste of space and breath, a stain on the multiverse.

He heard the screams, saw himself tearing akumas apart, even those who had been innocent or even his friends before.

He saw the day he learned Kagami had been captured by Ladybug... and his relief to see her return, unharmed.

But then he saw the day he truly first met Camille. A year before he had thought, when she was the one to have returned Kagami safely.

_"There you are, I've been looking for you."_ She had said to him from where she had a hand on his shoulder, scaring the hell out of the akuma he had been battling as she turned to them with an innocent smile unbefitting her since she had been coated in the blood of herself and Blood Witch, _"Thank you for finding him for me." _Once his opponent was gone, she had collapsed and needed immediate medical attention.

He'd assumed she didn't want to be found after they got her stable, because she vanished without a trace, and he never found her again until he had nearly forgotten her. Then he met her again. And now he was embarrassed to have not recognized her.

He had to focus on her face, of the good memories, as he heard a whip crack, cleaving his skin.

"Coward!" He heard this come from Gina, and his chest tightened, "Coward, look at me!" Jared looked over his shoulder. Gina was whole, untouched, her eyes full of damning hatred he wholly deserved for driving her to suicide, for having not recognized the signs.

And from behind her was his father. When Chris revealed he too had a whip, this one with an iron tip, Jared let out a quiet laugh. Whipping? He'd be able to handle that. Though for once he was _glad_ that no injury lasted longer than ten minutes here in the afterlife.

Then he noticed a damn line. Of all the people he had killed or failed to protect.

He didn't know how long he remained like that—though if he had to guess, maybe ten minutes. He wasn't too bothered by this, until it was Joselyn with the whip in her hands, then Camille. Memories of seeing them both on the brink had flashed before his eyes, and he did let tears fall then. He was pretty sure his back was in ribbons and bones were visible judging by how long this had been going on, and the blood that surrounded him, which as certainly enough to make him pass out from blood-loss if he was still alive.

Mental damage, no matter the severity, made physical, that was what this was supposed to be. Murderer, coward, liar, traitor. Words like that were screamed at him as the whip cracked once again and he actually felt it hit bone.

There was a scrape and the soft noise of shoes, and a small hand slid towards him. It was not Camille or Joselyn or even Kagami who lay across from him, watching him with sad sea-green eyes.

His cheek against the stained glass of the floor, the young eight-year-old boy he had once been reached a hand for him. "Get up," the boy said softly, "It's time to get up now."

It was in this moment Jared realized this all was another test, and not just a defense. Was he worthy of having all the knowledge in the multiverse at his fingertips? First he had to prove he had conquered his demons—his past.

The mirror itself…he gasped as he realized what the final defense would be.

"Get up," his child self repeated, standing up and holding out a hand. The people still waiting for their turn to whip Jared paused as the young man slowly got up, taking the boy's hand. This was the embodiment of the humanity he was fighting for, that innocence that had died way too long ago. The face he had once worn, the body so small and unscarred.

"You're a disappointment," he heard his mother say behind him, "You are everything I hated about the world." Jared turned, ignoring the pain in his back,

"Maybe. But I know who I am, and I accept it. What can I say? I'm only human." His younger self grinned, floating upwards and guiding Jared upwards until they were back in the artifact room, where the boy was nowhere to be found, and Jared—with his back slowly stitching itself back together—found himself in front of the Ouroboros. One test down, one to go. Then this whole thing would be over.

He forced himself to take a step forward.

The mirror itself was black as night, but somehow wholly clear at the same time.

He stopped three feet in front of it, not quite brave enough to touch it with a final defense still up. But it only showed him his reflection, which he didn't find surprising now that he knew what the final test would be.

Jared scanned the mirror for something to push or touch with his magic to activate the thing. But there was only the devouring head of the serpent, its maw open wide, a frost-like pattern sparkling on its fangs.

"Hello?" He whispered, getting no response. On the surface, it looked like a normal mirror.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and whirled around, before gasping quietly at what he saw. He had expected some other guardian of this place, not…

Its enormous black paws were near-silent on the floor, the fur on them a blend of black and gold. But those eyes, those shining sea-green eyes. He didn't have time to put words to them before the creature pounced.

Jared expected an impact, but instead found the creature was now in the mirror, scaled tail idly swishing. Watching. No, not watching.

Gazing back at him, his reflection. Of the being that lurked beneath his skin.

He was a lot of things. In the creature, he saw hate, love, joy, pain, despair, and an endless rage that burned like wildfire. But those eyes were undeniably human.

He smiled at the reflection, letting himself run a hand along the edge of the mirror. He heard a loud crash as the mirror was released from its restraints and fell into his hands.

OoOoO

"You retrieved it…" The Oracle whispered, looking at the mirror Jared handed to her. He only stared at her—his daughter, "How?"

Jared's tongue was dry. He hated being down here, the magic running through his being screaming that he needed to leave. "I looked. That's all."

"What did you see? It's a rare person to face who they truly are and not run from it—not be broken by it. That's what the Ouroboros shows all who look into it before they're proven worthy: who they are, every despicable and unholy inch. Some gaze upon it and don't even realize that the horror they're seeing is them, even as the terror of it drives them mad. Some swagger in and are shattered by the small, sorry creature they find instead. But you … Yes, rare indeed."

"What I saw is none of your concern. You have your mirror, so uphold your end of our arrangement. And you also owe me two questions." The Oracle brightened,

"Clever man, you learn the game quick. Ask away."

"Why do you take the form of my biological daughter?"

"Because it terrifies you." She answered simply, "I take the form of something that scares the hell out of a person, but is a constant nagging in the back of the head. The incident with young Amhar Darbonne sparked it in you, so I took advantage of it."

"Where is Joselyn? You're the Oracle, so you know everything. You must know where she is." The Oracle nodded, looking into the Ouroboros,

"She's on Dominaria, but plans to leave soon. She's a planeswalker with faulty powers, so it will be a challenge to find her." She then brightened, "I have gifts before I assist Queen Freya in sending you and Liana May Sullivan to the land of the living." She handed him a thick leather-bound book written in Old English, "This is a copy of the Book of Prophecies the council of death relies on. It will give you most answers you could want. And," she held his hand with the tattoo, and Jared watched in amazement as the eye vanished. The swirly pattern was still there, but the eye was completely gone, replaced with more swirls, "No more spying. Oh, one more thing, when I bring you back, you will be sterile. I assume that's good, but just want to be sure."

"Yes! Do it!" He had Joselyn, and that was enough. And this way he would never be tricked again.

"Ready to go?" Jared whirled around and saw Freya standing in the doorway of the cell, "You didn't need to turn to the Oracle for such things, unless you're trying to get rid of some of your power."

"I am." Freya groaned a little, dragging the Oracle out,

"You're free for the day. Don't fuck up and I'll talk to Cradh about getting you out of here." The Oracle grinned. Jared turned,

"Freya, I know I refuse to take your job as Fae monarch, but I think Liana might be a good candidate. She's influential, and she would have Cosmo as a consort—as scary as that thought is—who could handle the Sidhe if needed." Freya brightened,

"That sounds like a good plan. Thanks." He turned to look that the Oracle.

"Oh, Oracle, what's your name? I assume you have a name." The Oracle smiled,

"Nobody has ever asked me that before. It's too long and difficult for a mortal to comprehend, so Eyla is close enough."

"Well, thanks Eyla, for being willing to help." Eyla smiled a little, and nodded to Cosmo, "Cosmo Darling, good to see you."

"You too." He said coldly but not unkindly. Liana was hugging him tightly, leaning into a kiss.

"I love you." She whispered, and Jared found himself celebrating a little. It had been a Resistance joke that Liana and Cosmo had been in a relationship for forty years, but neither had said the 'L word' to now he would be able to hold it over Ben when they saw each other again that they finally said it and he got to hear it.

Cosmo whispered something in Liana's ear, and Jared decided he'd let that be between two lovers. Then the creature looked up at Jared, platinum eyes twinkling.

"Take care of her, Jared. See you in eight years—3256 days to be exact." Jared rolled his eyes,

"See you soon, Cosmo. Can't say I'll miss you all that much." Cosmo shrugged,

"That's fair. But you also have compete mastery over the powers you'll be keeping, so you're welcome." Morrigan appeared,

"Okay, this is probably going to hurt since Eyla is burning most of your powers away."

"I just got whipped for ten minutes straight, _and_ managed to kill Kahu while suffering from a nasty burnout" Jared said, "I think I can handle it." Freya chuckled,

"Fair enough. Oh, also, you both are freezing by comparison to living temperatures, so will both be unbearably cold and extremely weak for like a week after resurrection." Liana looked nervous, but one look from Cosmo had her next to Jared, nodding.

"Do it." Both council members and the oracle looked to each other, sending their own powers at the duo, who launched into the sky, becoming nothing more than pure energy as they went flying.

Cosmo looked to the three, "So…now what?"

OoOoO

Jared was falling yet being thrown at the same time.

As the gate to the afterlife closed, all the worlds overlapped, and he fell through them. One after another after another. Worlds of water, worlds of ice, worlds of darkness. He slammed through them, faster than a shooting star, faster than light.

He had to find home.

Worlds of light, worlds of towers that stretched into the skies, worlds of silence. There were so many worlds in the multiverse, and Jared realized that no matter how much he traveled, he would never see them all. The ones he saw right now were so precious and perfect, hopefully untouched by Kahu's attack two years ago, as he fell through them.

He then panicked. At this rate, he would either hit his own world too fast, or fly right past it. He had to slow down. He plummeted into the last of himself, into what remained right now, grappling for the first time only the whole of his magic, feeling it start to burn away. He passed through countless worlds and timelines, still trying to slow.

He passed through a world of snowcapped mountains under shining stars, where he saw a man roughly his age in appearance, with citrine streaks of hair and swirling silver eyes. The man lifted a hand, as if in greeting.

A blast of power, like a gentle summer night, slammed into him. Not to attack, but to slow him down. A wall he tore and plunged through. But it worked, and he left the man's world and landed on Alynthi, crashing into the lake in a sense of deja vu from escaping the Dark Realm.

…

Camille was pacing nervously in the foyer of her brother's home. She'd spent the last year trying to get better, but nothing would ever describe the joy and relief when Otar finally relented and powered himself down to the point Jared could return. It felt weird celebrating someone had ceased to exist, but right now she didn't care all that much.

Kagami was sitting in a chair designed specifically for her, since she had managed to add permanent dragon wings to her back, not trusting the wings granted to her by her stone. She too was a little nervous, eager to see Jared again but worrying about the consequences or if it wouldn't work.

Then Camille felt it. As the sun rose—courtesy of Eden, since she and her sister were in charge of the moon and sun rising—she felt it, a surge down the shattered mating bond. A blast of heat and light and welded the broken strands.

She didn't dare to breathe—to hope. Even as she saw the two blasts of light crash into the lake.

Still, she was instantly running out the door, diving into the water, reaching for Jared's limp body in the water. She didn't notice the female who also fell in, but Rhydian did, diving in and pulling the female out of the water. All four of them were soaked to the bone, but Camille paid no heed, carrying her mate out of the water.

A heartbeat echoed in her ears, into her very soul.

And that was Jared's chest, slowly rising and falling. And those were his eyes, opening slowly.

Camille held him to her chest and wept in the light of the rising sun.

A weak hand landed on her back, as though making sure it was actually her. He chuckled a little, "I came back," he rasped, before falling slack in her arms.

She wept with pure joy, picking him up to bring him inside to warm him up.

During that time, she reflected on their relationship. It was an inevitable thing for them to end up discussing things, since Jared still hadn't chosen whether to accept the bond officially or not. He was still in a place where he could reject it. If he chose to, she would respect that regardless of her own pain. As long as he was happy, she'd understand that.

Resting him on her bed, she noticed her brother come in. She didn't say anything, and Eli sighed,

"So he's back. Look, Cam, I'm not gonna give him a hard time—no promises about our parents though—because he basically performed seppuku. I actually brought blankets." He gestured to the blankets in his hands, "What? He is my brother-in-law, and the multiverse is chaotic enough right now without family drama." Camille nodded a little. She had never had much time to get to know her brother, but she was happy she did know him.

Eli sat down beside her, "According to Eden, the female who landed with him will recover. Oh, and Viirus and Kagami are probably gonna be coming to come sit bedside as well." As if on cue, Kagami burst in, wings and all. Eden followed and started looking Jared over. She definitely had talent to be able to work without being distracted by all the people.

"He'll be fine." She assured, "He needs lots of rest, but he'll make a full recovery." Camille sighed in relief, holding Jared's hand with a smile on her face. She hadn't seen him in so long outside her dreams, she had started to miss tiny details.

"I've missed you," Camille whispered when the healer left, absently running her thumb along his cheek, just making sure she wasn't hallucinating and he was actually here.

She saw him open his eyes a little, smiling slightly. He didn't say anything before falling back asleep, but the smile was enough to know it was really him. But in the back of her head, there was something screaming at her that something was wrong with him.

Very wrong.

Still, she could sense that bond, so she let herself push that wrong feeling into the back of her head. This was Jared, so how bad could it be? Maybe she'd ask him if he was feeling okay when he woke up?

She shook herself. Resurrection must have taken a toll, that's all. He would be completely fine with TLC and rest.

At least she hoped.

OoOoO

After a couple days, Jared was aware and awake, but not completely mobile enough to leave his bungalow. Apparently Zoe had fashioned it for him, with a porch for stargazing and a garage. Since his leg was once again fucked up, stairs were going to be the enemy.

Camille was out doing something or other, and he wondered where she was. She'd been so desperate to have him back, and she was nowhere to be found once he was up.

He looked at his hands, sighing as the citrine flames appeared. He now knew there was now a definite limit to his power, but this was still a significant gift. Not god-like anymore, but still powerful. Though he had lost his other forms, and that was a plus.

Another change was his hair, which had once been long when he was resurrected—apparently getting eight feet worth of it for some reason—was now cut short, messy. Gizmo apparently couldn't deal with someone else suffering through long hair and cut it while he was asleep. But it was still as white as usual, and he debated used hair dye on it, or asking why the hell Freya couldn't resurrect the melanin.

Joselyn was still missing. Jared had started reading through the Book of Prophecies to find her, because a book with knowledge of the future would tell him when she would successfully come home. So far he was still browsing through what the family had been doing while he was gone, and found himself flashing back to his childhood for some particular revelations.

He wasn't a fan of the situation Felix was in, but knew intervening would make things worse. And it seemed the plan of Kyra Sardothien would start first thing next week.

He was also getting a feel for what Joselyn's mental state would be when he found her. So far, she seemed to have actually be improving and correcting her self-destructive ways. Still not what most would call "normal" but seeing as she was a Carpenter by blood, he would call this "close enough."

Eventually though, he was getting annoyed by Camille not being around. Eli, Kagami and Viirus had been keeping him company. Apparently Cam had been trying to keep the in-laws calm. But once Jared explained his thought process that night, the issue was more-or-less resolved. Still, what was keeping her now? He wanted to go find her, and decided he would, when there was a soft knock on the door. He opened the door, getting a blast of cool air.

He stared at Camille. She stared at him.

Her cheeks were tinged pink with cold, her dark hair ruffled—shorter than when he had seen her two years ago, now only reaching her shoulders—and she honestly looked freezing as she stood there in the crisp autumn air. Seasons were still being regulated on Alynthi, with Eli being in charge of winter, and autumn being a grey area, so it was colder than a normal autumn.

In her eyes, he saw the doubt there. Was she seriously wondering if he loved her? He'd fucking come back for her and Joselyn, and they were the only reason he hadn't downright obliterated himself before making that deal with Cosmo—the hope of one day seeing them again.

And he knew that one word from him, and she'd walk away. That if he shut the door, she'd go and not push it.

Mate. His mate.

This beautiful, strong, selfless woman who had searched for seven years across the multiverse to find her family. The woman who stopped everything to help out some random guy and nearly die saving another random woman. And he could see she didn't think it was enough. Eli still thought he didn't deserve Zoe. Did Camille somehow think the same about him, that she didn't deserve him?

He stepped aside, holding the door open for her, and he could have sworn he felt a pulse of knee-wobbling relief through the bond. And that hurt. Though she had been living for two years thinking she was unworthy of love if she couldn't even keep her man from killing himself.

He turned to the kitchen, "You must be hungry. I'll heat something up."

Camille straightened, "You'd…make me food?"

"Heat." He turned back to her with a playful smile, "You and I both know my actual cooking would kill someone and even _Zoe_ is clueless to how I do it." It didn't seem to make a difference. But whatever it was, the act of offering her food… he put a couple hot pockets in the microwave.

Camille lingered in the living room, watching his every move. She said hoarsely, "It's…an important moment in witch culture when a male offers his mate food. Even Eli knew about it, and he had no idea it was a cultural thing." Jared them remembered Eli mentioned having offered Zoe some special fruit when he proposed, "Some mated pairs make an occasion of it, but that's usually done among the wealthy or for the coven heir. It means…the male accepts the bond. The female can reject too, but the male is the one with the direct not-doing of an action as a rejection."

Jared stared at the hot pockets, "Tell me the story—tell me everything you haven't told me before." He hadn't looked far back enough in the book to have seen her past, and he would rather hear it from her mouth. He also wondered what had become of that engagement ring he had gotten for her before he died.

Camille saw this as something else: she explained, and then he'd decide whether to give her the food or not.

A chair scraped against the wood floor as she sat at the table. For a moment, there was only silence, interrupted only by the clock and Jared opening the fridge, finding a little box from Gizmo.

_\- I found this next to your remains. I feel you might need it._

In the box was the engagement ring, which he pocketed. Had he known the food he was heating up would be the thing he proposed with, he would have chosen something else. So he'd let her talk, give her the food, and then go on a walk with her or something and propose properly.

Silver gleamed in her eyes, "Ever since I was a baby, I've had these…dreams. At first, for the first seven years, they were glimpses, as if staring through someone else's eyes like a window. They were brief—a flash here and there, every couple weeks. I learned I was a seer, so my adopted parents assumed it was to be another child joining our little foster family. I thought nothing of them…until November 2nd, sixteen years ago."

His eighth birthday. Jared's eyes widened as he realized where this would go, and he swore his heart stopped beating.

"My adopted mother was a healer, and I could sense your mother had still been alive after the attack. I had jolted awake and ran out of my home—an eight year old girl—and went to find you. I knew you were real, so I wanted to help you, since you were obviously important to me."

_"Everyone starts by feeling the bond differently," _Eli had said, _"Some through instant attraction—mild or major depends on the person—but it usually ties into their power for witches."_

Camille had the seer power, so she could see him in her dreams.

"After a month, I realized I should return home, as a girl as young as I shouldn't be out alone. But those dreams became more vivid, clearer and brighter. You were dreaming. I was in your dreams, your nightmares. I couldn't reach you or speak to you. I never saw your face. I saw your dreams, and I hoarded those images, sorting through them over and over again, trying to place where you were, who you were. But you had such horrible nightmares. I'd wake up with your scent in my nose, and it would haunt me all day."

There was silence in Jared's head, captured by her tale, things she had never told him. But one thought popped up. Why hadn't she told him any of this when they started dating six fucking years ago? Though it was kind of three years since he had been comatose for one year and dead for two more.

"Not long after, my foster father was drafted into war. He died, and his mate—my foster mom, both were elderly—couldn't take the pain and ended up dying not long after. But on her death bed, she told me the names of my parents: Harrison Sommers and Amelia Blackwell, and my twin brother. She told me how the Lady of the Lake had brought me as a newly revived infant to their doorstep, saying I would be taken in by my grandmother and turned into a monster, so they took me in. My name had been Briar Rose then, but they told me my true name."

"Briar Rose?" He played with a strand of her hair absently, "Suits you just as well as Cam. Camille Rose." She looked up at him with a blush,

"I actually did keep the Rose part of my name. So I guess my name really _is_ Camille Rose." She drank some water, wiping away some of her tears. He could tell she was getting nervous but how she was popping her fingers, one by one.

"Whenever you're ready." He assured her, placing a hand on hers. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. Down the bond, he assured her that there was nothing to worry about.

She nodded, holding up a locket, which had a photo of Harrison and Amelia, with Kelly grinning while holding baby Eli.

"I knew what they looked like. And you have no idea how hard it was to find them, with other versions of people being a thing. Eventually I managed to tap into Eli's mind using twin-telepathy, and saw what he looked like and created an illusion of him that worked with me. Anyone who recognized this version of him would be useful in my search. I slept around a bit as well, since I knew being a virgin witch is a dangerous thing in a multiverse where virginity is sold to the highest bidder, so that was the first thing to go at age fifteen—the age of consent most places. But then I found Blight."

Jared's blood boiled at the idea his mate had to go that far to protect herself, but he knew she was not ready to talk about that just yet. They were getting to the part of the story with their first meeting, and he was eager to hear it from her perspective.

"About a year before we met on the world-we-don't-speak-of?" Camille then froze.

"Yes. I didn't think you'd remember."

"I always remembered, it just took me a couple years to realize that girl who saved my surrogate sister and nearly died in the process was the same girl I fell in love with. Though I will admit seeing you scaring the living hell out of Prism with one look was hot."

She chuckled, "Maybe I should have stayed." She straightened, "I got there and went poking around, when I slipped into your conscious mind—something I could only do when it was important. I heard Kagami was captured by Ladybug and could be turned, and I used my master tracking skills I had developed over the years to find my way there. Getting in wasn't hard since I had stealth training—no seriously, being a young solo witch is the worst thing to be as a traveler, you _really_ need to learn. Finding Kagami wasn't too hard, grab and run. I managed to get pretty far with her using my magic to manipulate the wind to carry us. I found you, and immediately picked up on the fact you were near. And there you were. Human—utterly human."

"What about Blood Witch? If you were so close…"

"She lured me with some sort of siren call, and we fought one-on-one. That was one of the first times I ever had to use my magic in a fight to win it. As you might have seen a couple times, I am a capable fighter. But a witch who can manipulate the blood flow of anyone around her and kill them in a few seconds… yeah, magic was needed there to help me function lest I kill myself while trying to move. As you can guess, I won that fight—barely, and only because I cheated." She sighed, "Then I saw you fighting someone else, Prism apparently, who looked like he wanted to hurt you. I debated finishing him off with a flick of my wrist then and there, since I knew I wasn't strong enough to actually stab or anything. But I just…moved. I started speaking without knowing what I was saying, adrenaline the only thing keeping me up. But it didn't matter, because you were there, I was touching you, you really were real, and…" she let loose a shuddering breath.

_There you are, I've been looking for you._

Her first words to him were not a lie at all, not a threat to keep Prism away.

_Thank you for finding him for me._

He had the vague feeling or the world slipping out from under his feet like sand washing away from the shore.

"You looked at me," Camille said, "and I knew you had no idea who I was. That I might have seen your dreams, but you hadn't seen mine. And you were just…human. So young and already holding such great burdens, and you had no interest in me whatsoever other than curiosity. What would you think of a girl with magical powers, if those were the people you fought? So I started trying to walk away, but then you called after me, and my magic—the only thing keeping me up—gave out, and I collapsed in your arms, and you caught me…like you couldn't let go just yet, whether you knew it or not."

He remembered wondering who she was, why she had come to the rescue, how she had fought Blood Witch and won. Magic, of course. And having seen what that akuma was capable of, he understood perfectly why she needed to use magic to keep herself going. He knew that he wouldn't have been able to win that kind of fight until after becoming Goreclaw, which happened two weeks after this.

"When I woke up in that infirmary or wherever I was, something felt different. I could feel your blood flowing through my veins, and that strengthened the connection to you. I pretended to still be sleeping for a little bit, because I couldn't bring myself to talk to you. Why had you saved me?"

"Because I'm -O so Kagami keeps my blood around for emergency transfusions. I would have helped since you saved my surrogate sister—so life debt—but it was Kagami who did the actual saving." Camille chuckled,

"She's started keeping some of Zoe's blood instead, since she too is -O." Jared frowned,

"Why were you afraid of talking to me?"

"Because seeing you in my dreams was one thing, but in person…Right then, deep down, I think I knew what you were to me. And I didn't let myself admit it, since I've obviously made enemies over the years, such as the grandmother I had never met but inherited a surprising amount from. If someone like her realized you were my mate…they would have done unspeakable things to you, Jared. So I left the moment I could, letting you slip through my fingers when I knew subconsciously that I might have had a chance then. But I told myself that maybe the Multiverse had been kind instead of cruel for letting me see your face and learn your name."

"I looked for you." Jared admitted, "I was afraid Ladybug had taken you or something. But there were no new akumas at the time, and eventually I realized it was unlikely I'd find you in one piece."

"You wouldn't have found me, since I was far away from Blight within an hour. But I always remembered the location, and would go back to when I needed cheering up from my quest. I'd found you, so maybe I could find them." She got up, starting to pace,

"I was on that world, the one we don't talk about, because I noticed the Gummi ship land, and I sensed my brother's magical signature…and I felt you. Naturally I landed in the town, changed my look to be that of a native, and created a sentimonster-like creature of Eli. After a couple hours, I saw Zoe was heavily pregnant with Eli's children. But why were you with them? There you were, with my godfather stuck in a mirror and a Fae shifter as your dog."

"That is called being dragged into the infamous Carpenter bullshit." She laughed,

"I've realized that. And naturally I approached you, and immediately realized you felt the bond too, at least a little. And I was terrified when Zoe willingly sacrificed you. I now knew where my family was thanks to them, I knew where to go, but I refused to let you die. I was really scared, Jared. I knew I was going to protect you when you couldn't protect yourself—whether you loved me or not, you were clearly important to other people—turning that acid into hot water and pulling you out."

"But then the war came with Anti-Dausi." She continued to pace around the room, "Words do not describe how excited I was when you invited me to spar. I wanted to know you. If you were my mate, I wanted to know you as a person—I didn't _love_ you then, but I did care, so I wanted to know who you were. Bringing Joselyn along was what made me realize I was falling in love, a kind man even after everything, helping a scared little girl."

Jared chuckled, "Little did I know that was the start of our little family." She nodded,

"When Anti-Dausi started getting the upper hand, something snapped in a way I can't explain, only that seeing you bleeding a momentarily unconscious undid me. It broke me after all I had done, after slavers and mercenaries and constant lingering despair, seeing you in that state was what made me snap. And as I unleashed my power to the point of almost yielding like my many aunts around me—only using it to enhance my already legendary fighting skills—I knew for certain what you were to me. I couldn't stop my thinking over and over, as Joselyn let Iku out for the first time: you were my mate, my mate, my mate."

Jared gaped. She had known even before they were dating. Eli had explained it only mutually clicked when marriage was a possibility, but some were aware for a long time. But Cam had known for half a decade and hadn't said anything about it.

"You were banished to the Dark Realm, and I lost it. Finally found you and my brother, and you were both gone. I ran to Dad and was so frantic, so…unhinged, that I told him everything. We had just gotten out of a war and had known each other for barely a week, and the first words I said were 'He is my mate'. So that month, I went looking for you and my brother relentlessly, but also cautious and not as reckless as Eden. But through your dreams and my twin-telepathy with Eli, I knew you were safe. But when you returned, damn the consequences, I found myself kissing you and elated when you returned it. I almost told you everything then and there, but…you were happy…and looking at me like I was worth something. I decided not to tell you of the bond between us, so you would always know you had a choice to leave."

Jared realized that if humans didn't feel the bond as strongly, it made sense he didn't feel it as powerfully until he had his stone powers. The most important thing in his immortal existence, and it had been kept secret from him, she hid it so he wouldn't feel obligated to be with her. Though he was a little annoyed Harrison knew first, but father-daughter bonding was understandable.

"As you can guess, I was horrified when you slipped into a coma, and it was hard watching Joselyn slip further away into self-loathing. I didn't know how severe the situation was, but I knew she hated herself. I did what I could, and felt horrible that it wasn't enough. I love her like my own child, and the memory of you sobbing over her dying form still haunts me—reminding me of my failure." Her voice was now thick with tears, and it made her light Canadian accent all the more apparent,

"When you died…I felt you die. This wonderful thing that had come into my life was gone. In my desperation, I clung onto our bond and tugged as hard as I could. It was selfish, I know, but I wasn't ready to say goodbye yet. I willed you to hold on, to stay with me. And even after a year of accepting I would see you one day in the afterlife…I couldn't stop loving you, longing for you, wanting you. I still can't stay away, only succeeding due to my own terror, knowing you would either accept me or turn me away. It is still your choice to reject that bond and throw me out—a-and I won't fight you. You probably didn't want to come back, and I realized that once you're back, how it felt like a hollow victory. I'm sorry, Jared."

She leaned back, loosing a long breath.

Slowly, Jared turned around to the hot pocket. He felt her watching every step he took, slowly moving towards the door, and he stopped before her.

"You love me?"

Camille nodded, and he wondered if love was too weak for what she felt. For what he felt for her, knowing that even now she was willing to leave and not force this upon him.

He set the hot pocket down before her on the table, "Then eat."

He watched her eyes widen, for a tear to fall down her face, and he watched her slowly consume each bite, her grey-green eyes darting between the food and him. When she was done, he took her hand, putting a jacket on and helping her into her own. He also used telekinesis to stabilize his leg.

"Walk with me." She obeyed, and they walked in silence for a bit. Down the bond, he could feel she was nervous. After everything, he could tell she trusted him, but she felt guilty for bringing him back. Yes, he would have liked to move on or just cease existing, but since it was his own mistake to make that bargain with Cosmo, he would much rather spent those eight years and beyond with his family.

"Are you going to say anything?" She asked quietly, and Jared looked down at her, noticing a lake by their house, much like the one where they had first kissed.

"I was going to tell you the moment I saw you at the door." She fidgeted a little,

"And now?"

Aware of every breath, every movement, he cupped her cheek and studied her face.

"And I want you to know that I love you. I want you to know…" her lips trembled, and he brushed away the tear that escaped down her cheek, "I want you to know I do not regret coming back…my heart belongs to you, and I am _honored_ to be your mate."

Her arms wrapped around him and she pressed her forehead to his chest, her body shaking. Jared ran a hand through her silken hair.

"I love you." He said again, "And I'd endure every second of it again to find you—I wish you had stayed on Blight with me those years ago, so we'd have time before Carpenter bullshit struck." She laughed a bit, more tears spilling as he continued, "And whatever evil creature comes to ruin the moment next comes, we'll face it together. I won't let them take you from me."

Camille looked up, her face gleaming with tears. She went still as he leaned in, kissing her gently and wiping away her tears. She let out a breath that might have been a sob, as her lips found him.

When they broke apart, Jared got on one knee, ignoring the pain in his fucked up leg, pulling out the ring.

"Camille Rose Blackwell…will you marry me?" Camille gasped, looking at him and nodding, hugging him tightly as he slipped on the ring. And if he had thought the mating bond had snapped into place before, try putting that on steroids now that he had accepted it.

He was surprised Zoe wasn't here to ruin the moment. According to Eli, she was getting better about that since they got her head fixed.

Nobody disturbed them as they stargazed hand in hand. Jared wondered if maybe one of those stars—other worlds—had Joselyn on them, or maybe she was unknowingly looking back. He also realized she was fourteen years old, and it was hard to imagine her as a young woman.

He smiled when he noticed Camille had fallen asleep next to him in the grass, subconsciously inching her way closer to him.

So far things didn't seem too bad in the book of prophecies, with the next few months being blissfully lacking chaos other than Felix's situation. Maybe the multiverse was finally taking pity on this band of unfortunate crazies and letting them have peace. And if things stayed peaceful, all he had to do was find Joselyn, and everything would be close enough to ideal.

**A/N: There will be a one-shot with the time Jared and Cam actually met for the first time.**


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45: Storm The Citadel**

Samut looked around, taking in the vast desert of Amonkhet. "I never thought I'd be back," she said.

"I hate sand," Ob Nixilis grumbled behind her.

"You know, you could probably have asked Beleren for another task."

"Stay in that hellhole and take orders from a rat? I have better things to do." At that moment, Dack Fayden came running through the portal, yelping as he was covered in light burns and patting out a fire on his left shoulder. The demon let out a hearty laugh at the thiefs misfortune. "You have your assignments, so have fun with that."

"And what are you doing?" Dack asked.

"There is no blasted magic sun here. I'm going back to Zendikar. I would recommend you do something similar." And with that, the demon planeswalked away, earning a string of curses from Samut.

"Well, at least we can still take the bridge down," Dack shrugged, pulling out the device Saheeli Rai had made for them, a small thopter with a bomb implanted in it. Unsure of where to go, the two planeswalkers began circling the portal, also unsure of what to look for, when they found a large jumble of metal and aether pipes.

"That does not belong on Amonkhet," Samut said, her voice heavy.

"Then I'm guessing that that's what we blow up," Dack responded, throwing the thopter at the construct, only for it to be deflected by a metal arm as a man stepped from the metal. Samut gasped, recognizing the forgien disciple of the God-Pharaoh.

"Tezzeret," the speedmage mumbled, "you helped bring about the destruction of Naktamun, and now you assist in the destruction of another civilization for the benefit of a tyrant?"

"I don't exactly enjoy working for the dragon," Tezzeret stated, as if it should be obvious. "Though, I also owe my life to him and don't have much of a choice. But, he does give me power greater than what I could obtain on my own, so that's nice. Now, if I were you two, I'd worry more about that damned curse this plane throws at you. You would know all about it, wouldn't you dissenter." Samut drew her khopeshes and spat at the artificer.

"You are the dissenter, letting Nicol Bolas kill and deface the gods like he did."

"Uh, what about the curse he mentioned," Dack butted in. Samut ignored him.

"You would come to Naktamun to sing the praises of the God-Pharaoh, to shout lies about the bringer of the end. You will pay for your deceit!" Samut sprinted towards Tezzeret, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. The esperite barely had time to raise an arm to block the flurry of blades that rained down upon him, but still held his smug grin throughout the barrage. "What amuses you, disciple of Bolas?"

"You truly are forgetting about the curse that haunts your plane." Samut turned, her expression of rage now mixing with horror as she witnessed Dack being surrounded by undead, creatures that had once lived in tranquility inside the barrier of the Hekma now rising from the sand with the sole intent of adding to their ranks. At least these undead weren't Eternals, as they pawed and clawed at Dack. Samut was also thankful that she didn't have to risk shattering another set of blades on these creatures. Readying another spell to move in on the zombies attacking Dack, she was surprised to see the sand around him lifted, throwing wandering corpses into the air. Dack was crouched on the ground, hands over his head, two prongs of a golden spear buried in the sand on either side of him. That spear, Samut recognized it, and apparently so did Tezzeret, as he immediately planeswalked away. The speedmage paid him no mind as the golden face of Hazoret, the last surviving god of Amonkhet, came into view. Even after years of wandering through the desert, only serving to protect the few remaining humans that remained, she still radiated divinity and power. Samut could only kneel before her. The jackal-headed god pulled her spear from the ground and spoke, her voice laced with compassion and authority that only a god could command.

"You still fight valiantly, my child," Hazorets words rang in Samuts ears. The planeswalker turned her head up to the deity, smiling.

"I have been traveling, attempting to save other worlds from suffering the same fate that Amonkhet did."

"And I presume that you have done well."

"Except for Ravnica. The God-Pharaoh is assaulting the world, unleashing his army of Eternals like he did here, along with the other four gods, resurrected as mere shadows of their former selves."

"I wish I could travel as you do, to punish Nicol Bolas for what he has done to my brothers and sisters." Hazorets voice was laced with fury, her contempt for the false god giving way to pure rage.

"If there is any way that you could help, to defeat the tyrant once and for all, we would all be grateful." The god though for a second before kneeling down and handing Samut her spear.

"He crafted this weapon with his own essence. It is one of the few weapons that can harm him. Use it well." Samut nodded, graciously accepting the gift and planeswalking back to Ravnica. Hazoret now turned her attention to Dack. "And for you, thief." He looked up at her, his face holding a look of worry and fear as he remained crouched before her. "You wish to escape to safety, much like the demon did earlier. But I urge you to return, to finish the fight. You are a better man than you know, and you can discover your true potential, but only if you let yourself show it instead of running away. Remember what you have lost, and honor it, ensuring that nobody has to lose anyone dear to them if you can help it." And with that, the god was gone, leaving Dack alone in the wasteland, the Planar Bridge inexplicably destroyed. He thought back to his home on Fiora, and decided to heed the advice of Hazoret, planeswalking back to Ravnica.

OoOoO

Joselyn could already feel the strain the massive illusion was putting on her, but she held it. Willing her creation forward, the illusion swung its staff at the undead god, the broad end catching his serpentine jaw and dragging him to the ground. Rhonas tried to get back up, but Joselyn brought the staff back down on him, knocking him back to the ground. Another blow, keeping Rhonas down, but she was so focused on defeating the god that she didn't pay attention to the other Eternals around her. She was able to pick out a lazotep-coated naga reaching out for her, only for it to be sliced in half by Huatli. "We'll protect you," the dinosaur knight said. "COVER THE GIRL!" At that command, Angrath let loose his chains, red-hot whips of metal moving about the plaza in wide arcs, destroying any Eternal they came in contact with. Kasmina also pitched in, altering the Eternals into small, harmless creatures that Huatli's raptor would then either step on or eat. Joselyn could now focus solely on Rhonas. It took a minute for her to process that she was locked in single combat with a god, and winning! If she ever made it back, she would never let Zoe forget this. Her illusion continued attacking, moving at her every command, even when she had to go on defensive for a split second as Rhonas climbed on top of a nearby building. The god lunged at her illusion, staff poised to strike it down, but Joselyn was quick. She deflected the blow, sending the undead god skidding down the street. She moved the illusion in closer, feeling the beads of sweat running down her temples from overexertion. She went in for another attack, but now, her movements had slowed. The end of Rhonas's staff caught her illusion in the face, knocking it to the ground. Joselyn cried out as pain racked her body and spots filled her vision, but she made her illusion get back up. She would not lose this fight. She was the puppet master, it was _her_ that now pulled the strings! She sent the illusion in for another strike, and paused when Rhonas shrieked in pain. Everyone turned their attention to the sky to see what had struck the god, and saw the Parhelion II descending from the clouds, its solar cannon trained on Rhonas and charging up for another blast. Joselyn was thankful for the assist before realizing the crucial flaw that the airship was making.

"They're too close!" Joselyn said. And as she predicted, Rhonas raised his staff, gripping the bottom as he swung it into the airship, the broad end digging into the left half of the ship. Flames rocketed from the puncture as the Parhelion II began losing altitude, it cannon no longer charging, its engines failing. Rhonas then shoved the staff backwards, the end of it impaling the illusions chest. Kahu's tampering with Joselyn's powers paid off for him as the blow to the illusion hit her as well, digging a hole in her chest and soaking her shirt with blood. She fell to her knees as the illusion faded. She had failed to stop Rhonas, and now they were all doomed. The ground shook as Parhelion II crashed and Rhonas stood back up to his full height. Joselyn felt a tear slip down her cheek as the God-Eternal neared. And then the unexpected happened.

"THE END-RAZE IS UPON US!" several Gruul warriors yelled as the ground began to shake, and a massive boar as tall as Rhonas himself bursted through the ground in the center of the plaza. She had heard talk of this boar earlier today. He was the End-Raze god, Ilharg, and he charged Rhonas with all the ferocity and rage that Ravnica could muster, slamming into the invading god with enough force to break his staff in two. Ilharg's tusks dug into the lazotep that covered Rhonas, and he continued plowing into the God-Eternal with no mercy, slamming him into a pile of debris so hard that the cobra-headed god's enchanted carapace shattered beneath him, leaving only small chunks covering the decaying body of a dead god. Ilharg squealed in triumph as numerous Gruul warriors and rioter crowded beside him, ready to follow their own god into battle. The plan now seemed unspoken and simple: storm the citadel, kill the dragon.

OoOoO

While the gruul clans mobilized to take down one dragon, another landed in the plaza behind the gathered planeswalkers. Several figures slipped off of its back as it began shifting, turning back into the dracomancer Sarkhan Vol. Joselyn turned to see Vivien, Chandra, Saheeli, and Nahiri, along with a major surprise. "Alexa?"

The girl in question sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Not exactly fond of being a planeswalker. Could you maybe not tell anyone about this when we get home?"

"Uh, sure, I guess. Where have you all been?"

"We were working on the fool's errand Karn was attempting," Sarkhan stated. "But we were overrun. I was barely able to get these two out," he pointed to Vivien and Alexa, "and the twins were able to planeswalk to safety. Karn and the civilians he was protecting were not so lucky."

"Then we make sure that their deaths were not in vain," Vivien said as she readied her arkbow.

"Oh, yeah, whatever was keeping us here stopped working," Alexa blurted out. "Hundreds of planeswalkers are leaving."

"Yeah, the Immortal Sun broke in half when it hit the cobblestone," Chandra said. "I may have been partially responsible for that."

"Okay. Well, Joselyn, let's go home." The younger girl turned to look at Alexa, staring her dead in the eyes.

"No," was all Joselyn responded with, to everyone's shock.

"What? I would think you of all people would want to get away from here."

"They say that a planeswalker is someone who can always run away from danger. But I have to agree with something I heard from Jace, we're also the only ones who can truly choose to stay. I'm staying, and I'm not going to let another tyrant gain omnipotence." Alexa was speechless. "I say we gather as many soldiers as we can, join the Gruul, and try to overwhelm Nicol Bolas and his forces."

OoOoO

Ral looked in awe as Ilharg rushed passed him, slamming into the God-Eternal. He had thought the Gruul had been crazy to believe that the boar existed. Then again, he served under a dragon and could travel to different planes of existence, one of which was spewing metal zombies onto his world. So maybe a giant pig wasn't that crazy after all.

"Ral, behind you!" Syllia shouted. The stormmage turned around with just enough time to stop an Eternal from grabbing his neck. Unfortunately, he stopped it with his hand, which now let the Eternal begin draining his essence. He felt pain shoot through every part of his body, parts of him drying up like a fish in the sun on Tin Street, the energy being sapped from him, a biting pain in his wrist. And then all the pain stopped, except for the pain in his wrist. He looked to see that the hand that the Eternal had grabbed was now a shriveled husk in its own clutches, as well as no longer being connected to him, leaving his wrist a bloody stump. He looked to Syllia, and the elf returned a look of apologetic softness. Her filigree tendrils were extended, glinting red in the dim light. Ral looked horrified. "It saved your life, at least," the elf said, clearly upset about what she had just done. Ral ripped off a piece of his tunic and wrapped it around the stump where his hand had been.

"I'll have to make due. I wouldn't be the first cyborg planeswalker." The stormmage was struggling to focus through the pain he was still feeling from having had his spark almost pulled out of him and from an unexpected amputation, and failed to notice the Eternal that had grabbed him going in for another strike, its weapon raised to come down on his head. "I should probably get with the other guild representatives, see if we can find an Azorius-" Syllia body slammed him to the ground, an impressive feat for someone a fraction of his size, as the Eternal's spear came down between his legs, catching Syllia's arm and tearing through her flesh from her shoulder to halfway down her forearm, blood spraying as the undead warrior pulled the weapon through her. She paid no mind to this, though, as her filigree tendrils shot forward, wrapping around the zombie and dismantling it in less than a second. They sat there silent for a second before Ral spoke up. "That was close."

"Yeah, a little too close." Syllia looked down at her arm, feeling the blood run down, cutting lines through the dirt and grime that had collected in the past few hours, crimson drops falling from her fingertips to the cobbled street, the dark puddle reflecting the harvested sparks flying overhead. "We should find some more people. Someone we can fight with, make things easier on us."

"Ha, yeah. I'll take one of those stuck up Simic merfolk at this point, no matter how far up their ass that stick is." They looked around for anyone before their eyes landed on a small group of planeswalkers, and they began making their way towards them.

"I say we gather as many soldiers as we can, join the Gruul, and try to overwhelm Nicol Bolas and his forces," one of the people said.

"As good a plan as any," Ral called out, noticing several planeswalkers, including Chandra, Huatli, Angrath, and a young girl that resembled Adelina. "Who are you? You look familiar?"

OoOoO

Upon the question, Joselyn realized that she had put so much focus into her God-Illusion that she had dropped all of her others. No more spectral beasts, and no more concealing her true face. Apparently, everyone else was noticing this as well, as several of them took on a curious look. Huatli spoke up, her mount putting her on a pedestal as she did. "This is Joselyn, and as you all have seen, she is a more than capable combatant. Yanling and I overheard you talking with Gideon earlier. It seems you have taken his words to heart."

"How old are you, kid?" Ral questioned.

"Twelve," Joselyn said, looking away as if she had disappointed them.

"Does that really matter?" Syllia butted in. "Teyo is nineteen, I'm fifteen. I saw a young boy who couldn't have been older than nine mowing down Eternals with a chakram. At this point, we're just fighting to live, age be damned."

"Uh, okay then," Ral said, still looking like he had reservations on the subject. "Oh, I've also gotten the guilds on board with Operation Desperation. Each guild has a representative down by the ruins of the Chambers of the Guildpact along with Ms. Revane, well, each guild save for Izzet, represented by yours truly, and Azorious. Has anyone seen Lavinia?"

Chandra hung her head. "She. . . she didn't make it." Ral's face flew through several emotions at once, but finally settled on grief.

"What about Jason?" Syllia asked quietly.

"He's unconscious, but alive. Mileva and a few other Boros troops are moving him to a safe location before joining back with us."

"That still doesn't solve the lack of an Azorius representative," Ral cried. Silence settled over the group, everyone thinking for a bit.

"I can do it," Joselyn said.

"No offense kid, but you're injured." He pointed to the growing red spot on her shirt. "I don't really feel comfortable putting that kind of strain-"

"I can do it. Besides, you're not in the best shape either." She nodded her head to his missing hand.

Ral sighed. "If you insist."

OoOoO

The Gruul had been doing a decent job of keeping the Dreadhorde back, but even they had their limits. Eternals began filing into the plaza, marching in synchronized silence. The available planeswalkers lined up shoulder to shoulder, and were quickly joined by Jace and Teferi. Each of them readied their weapons and magic, preparing for battle. Joselyn found it a little odd that Nahiri had chosen to crouch to the ground, but decided to focus instead on the mana needed to effectively use her sural. As Jason and Sarkhan had proven, as long as the magic is strong enough, it can damage Eternals before it gets dispersed. Uncoiling her sural, she felt the pure white mana surge through her to the arcane weapon. Beside her, Vivien notched an arrow, the ghostly image of a mammoth beginning to form, and she could feel the heat radiating from Chandra, Sarkhan, and Angrath. Behind them, hundreds of warriors from every guild joined the march. Dimir assassins, Rakdos blood witches, Izzet scientists, Simic warriors, Boros soldiers, the Erstwhile from the Golgari, giants from the Orzhov, Selesnya knights, Azorius lawmages, and even more Gruul rioters. Ravnica was ready to take a final stand, and so were the planeswalkers defending it. Sarkhan let loose a ferocious battle cry, the rest of Ravnica responding with a similar shout as they all rushed forward into the Eternals, weapons fully in use and magic being used to the max. Animal spirits rushing into the Dreadhorde from Vivien's arkbow, Eternals melting between Sarkhan's fire and Ral's lightning or getting cut in half by Angrath's chains. Joselyn was most surprised when she saw Nahiri leap into the air, having pulled two molten hot swords of stone out of the ground to slash and impale the opposing undead. And Joselyn herself was making quick work, having taken control of a half dozen Eternals as her sural took out two to three at a time, though not as impressive as Syllia, who's metal tendrils were extending to extreme lengths, taking out eighteen to twenty Eternals in the same amount of time it took her to take down one. Joselyn was holding her own just fine, regardless, but it would take hours for her alone to get over to the guild representatives at the rate she was moving. Not to mention that her arm was starting to cramp from the extreme movements she was performing. She stopped for a minute to catch her breath, and immediately felt the cold metal hand of an Eternal on her neck. For the fifth time that day, she thought she was going to die, but nothing happened. The Eternal just stood there. "You're welcome, miss," a man with an English accent said, his tone making him sound like someone from an aristocracy. "The name's Davriel Cane." He was tall, wearing black armor and an enchanted cloak that smudged the air, along with a mask that resembled the twisted face of a demon.

"H-how did you do that," she asked.

"I simply stole that wretched spell from its primitive mind."

"You looking to help stop Nicol Bolas then?"

"I'm looking to be left alone." A sentiment Joselyn could respect. "If that means using some demons and working along this rakish instigator and his mindless devils," he pointed in the direction of a man with red skin and horns in a disheveled suit, "then so be it. As long as I can get off this blasted plane in time for tea."

"Welcome to the fight. Think you could help me get to the guild chamber thing?"

"My obligations are to myself. Be thankful that I decided to spare you. Though, I wish you luck on your little suicide quest." Another figure emerged from the shadows behind Davriel.

"If he doesn't help, we will." Joselyn puzzled for a second before realizing who was speaking. It was the Dimir champion, a vampire by the name of Etrata, the Gruul centaur shaman Nikya by her side. "We will lead our rioters and assassins in a charge, clearing a path for you to unite with the guilds." Joselyn nodded.

"Then let's go." Etrata stepped up beside Joselyn as Davriel retreated to the shadows, knives readied and assassins arriving by the dozen, rioters pushing through them to the front. Nikya raised her axe and reared on her hind legs as if to signal the charge. Rioters and assassins formed a column that pushed into the Eternals, pushing them aside to allow Joselyn through. Nikya grabbed Joselyn and put her on her back, racing through the opening towards the guild representatives, Joselyn's Eternals following close behind. The centaur was in full gallop, and the young girl could see the group of people amassed by the remnants of a building, purple haze in the air around them as if it were a scar on the world. Ten people gathered around, waiting for her. She wanted to ask Nikya to go faster, but she already seemed to be pushing her limits. And like everything else that had happened that day, something went wrong. One of the centaur's hooves caught the cobblestone at an awkward angle, causing her to stumble and vault Joselyn into the air. In this brief moment of weakness, the Eternals struck, cutting the centaur down like she was nothing. She didn't even have time to scream. Joselyn was now on a collision course with a pile of stone and metal that she would be lucky to walk away from at all. She closed her eyes, expecting death yet again before feeling herself get yanked up. She opened her eyes to see a large metal bird, Saheeli perched atop its back. The inventor had apparently taken to crafting constructs with the surrounding scrap given the number of crude yet beautiful automatons roaming the plaza, following Saheeli's directive and crushing Eternals underfoot. "This almost dying thing is starting to get old," the young girl muttered as the metalshaper dropped her beside the guild representatives.

Once she took her place in the circle, Ral spoke up. "Everyone knows what they're doing, right?"

"Channeling mana and a connection for our respective guild to bring back your grouchy boss," the Boros representative Tajic said.

"Yup," Ral said, popping the P at the end. "We just need to do that, Nissa will redirect the leylines, and Niv's device will do the rest." His face was one of confidence, until he looked past Joselyn, and his face fell. "Uh, yeah. Kefnet is never a good sign."

OoOoO

Dack was in way over his head. His only weapon was a dagger and the best trick he could pull was magnetizing lazotep. While this did cause the Eternals to stick together and slowed them down in a rather comical fashion, he couldn't do this to every Eternal he encountered. There were a few times he considered forgetting what Hazoret had told him and running, getting off of this doomed world. And then it dawned on him. He may have been overwhelmed, but Ravnica as a whole was winning. The guilds were pushing towards the Citadel and the planeswalkers were finally overpowering the Eternals. If Nicol Bolas was going to win, he would need to retreat and regroup. The dragon could just leave! That couldn't be allowed to happen. Dack ran in search of Jace, finding the mind mage beside the Immortal Sun, using illusions to try and trick the Eternals into attacking each other. Dack froze for a second when he saw Ashiok further down the street, floating just above the cobblestone. They must have been feeding off of the Eternal's unwavering devotion to Nicol Bolas as they drove them mad, undead tearing themselves apart, clutching their heads in silent screams, and bashing their own heads in on the surrounding buildings. It was actually an impressive display. "Who knew that the dead still have fear," he remarked. Jace turned to acknowledge him.

"What do you want, Fayden?"

"We need to turn the Immortal Sun back on."

"ARE YOU INSANE! Do you know the toll turning it off took on us, and the very reason why we turned it off in the first place?"

"Yes, but hear me out. The Sun traps planeswalkers, meaning that Nicol Bolas is trapped by it too. Look around you. We're winning, and I'm sure that damn dragon can see it too. If he has any amount of intelligence and reason, he'll be retreating soon. But if we turn the Sun on…"

"We keep him here, using his own devices against him."

"Exactly."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"Just tell me how to turn it on." Jace puzzled for a bit before his face fell.

"You can't. It's broken and would need to be remade."

"Then how do I remake it?"

"It can only be done with the sacrifice of a planeswalker spark." Dack nodded and moved for the Immortal Sun before Jace grabbed his arm. "You truly are insane! That's suicide!"

"I'm pretty much useless out here, my only chance of surviving is by pure luck, which I have very little of. Let me do this, just to do something helpful for once."

"Did you miss the part about it _killing_ you?"

"If I die, I die. But we can't let him win. Besides, one less spark to be used as fuel for his spell." Jace let go of Dack's arm with a solemn gaze as he realized that he wouldn't be able to convince the thief. Dack laid his hands on the cool stone surface of the Immortal Sun. They began to glow blue with his psychometry, linking himself to the artifact. He then began channeling a much greater energy into it: his spark. The two pieces of the Sun began to reform, becoming one whole item. Dack cried out in pain as he forced his life essence out of himself, as he felt himself die. A tear slipped down his cheek as he thought of his lost love, Mariel. _Perhaps I'll see her in the afterlife_, he thought as the remainder of his life slipped away.

OoOoO

Teferi watched as Nicol Bolas turned. The dragon was beginning to retreat, to build up his army further and strike again, this time preparing for such extreme resistance. He couldn't let that happen. As he readied a spell to stop Bolas long enough for Gideon to hopefully get in and strike, but was stopped when he felt something tugging on his spark. Nicol Bolas shimmered in golden light. He was getting way, or so he thought. As the dragon attempted to leave, he was pulled back to Ravnica, a symbol appearing in front of him. It wasn't the usual symbol of the Immortal Sun, however. Instead, where the Azorius insignia would have been sat a shimmering golden image of Dack Fayden, smuggly smiling and flipping the dragon off. Nicol Bolas glared at the symbol before roaring in rage. At this roar, the Eternals became more relentless than they had ever been. Teferi knew a last ditch effort when he saw one, and usually they didn't work out. Knowing this, he scanned the skies for Gideon, and only finding angels and undead drakes and avens. The drakes screeched in response to their God-Pharaoh, diving towards the plaza, dropping chunks of silver on unsuspecting soldiers. The Eternals must have stripped Karn's Bastion after they attacked it, using its heavy structure to their advantage. The chronarch made a move to take shelter as a small chunk of silver slammed into his shoulder, spinning him as he tumbled to the ground. As his vision straightened out, Teferi saw what exactly he had been hit with, and his breath caught, his gaze falling upon the head of Karn. His closest friend save for Jhoira, gone, and for what? A sliver of magic? Even more power for the most powerful being in the multiverse? Teferi filled with rage. "The safest place for you is not now," he growled at the Eternals, his rage made clear with the powerful yell he let out as his magic was set loose, lashing out at every Eternals he saw, severing their timeline as if they had never been born. Hundreds of Eternals ceased to exist in a matter of seconds, and in doing so, hundreds of planeswalkers and Ravnicans had their life returned to them. If any action that day had instilled any amount of hope, it was this one, bringing plenty of fresh faces to the fight. But the strain the ancient planeswalker had put on himself was immense, and he was feeling the effects as he slumped against his staff, giving just enough time for a straggling Eternal to grab his arm, ending Teferi's seemingly endless life.

OoOoO

Even as she felt the leylines converge to speed up the process, Joselyn couldn't help but worry about the approaching god. She was still battered from her run-in with Rhonas, and now she had to deal with something similar, while focused on something else, and with the threat being in the air. Instead of thinking too much about that, she willed herself to focus on the task at hand, channeling mana into the device containing the spirit of yet another dragon, and was relieved when a shield went up around them. She looked to see Teyo, on his knees, his skin ghostly pale, and holding up a weak geometric shield as well as he could. And hold it he did, as Kefnet raised his crook and brought it crashing down on the shield. It shimmered and sputtered in areas, but for the most part it held, though, Joselyn still reached out for a new ability to copy in case of emergency. The leyline convergence began glowing a brilliant white, ten two-color orbs racing around inside the circle of mana, and she could have sworn she saw a pair of eyes inside it as well. She wasn't given time to dwell on it, though, as Teyo's lightshield gave out after the third his and Kefnet moved closer. "We need cover," Ral shouted. Joselyn groaned at the thought of multitasking, but she didn't see many other options. Her right hand trained on the leylines, beams of mana pulsing from her outreached arm, and she flung her left hand behind her, mana pulsing through that one as well as she revealed her newly copied ability, forming a lightshield of her own. This was was much brighter and larger, wrapping around the group and seemingly dazzling the god. This proved only a minor setback, as Kefnet quickly recovered and continued his assault, with little result as his blows bounced off the significantly stronger shield. As he did this, Joselyn felt the blows to the shield ricochet through her, the pain becoming even more immense. She yelled, as if it would somehow help her, even though she felt tears running down her cheeks beside her nose. But these tears felt too warm, and as the bottom edge of her vision darkened, she realized that they weren't tears at all. They were streaks of blood. Even with this revelation, she continued to push herself. After all, there would be no point in all this death if the elder dragon won in the end, so she held the barrier, the roaring it caused in her ears drowning out whatever Ral and Nissa were saying. And then it happened. The leylines became one independent force, no longer relying on the surrounding mages, and a massive crimson dragon avatar rose from it, his gaping maw aflame. Joselyn saw what was about to happen, and she dropped the shield. Kefnet came closer, several avens swarming to his side, but the guild representatives stood their ground as the resurrected dragon spoke.

"I am Niv-Mizzet, REBORN! No disciple of Nicol Bolas shall walk this plane again without facing my judgement. That is my decree." Niv-Mizzet blasted Kefnet with a jet of white-hot fire, pushing the god back as he let loose a gurgling shriek. He then attempted an escape, but was cut short by a loud squeal as Ilharg charged into his back, pushing the ibis-headed deity back towards Niv-Mizzet. Between the shriek of the undead god, the thundering of hooves, and the roar of the reborn dragon's inferno, Joselyn could barely hear herself think, save for how badass all of this looked as Kefnet shattered between the force of the Living Guildpact and an opposing god. What didn't help, though, was Niv-Mizzet's eyes beginning to flutter as he fell to the ground unconscious. Teysa Karlov, the Orzhov representative unsheathed a dagger at her hip.

"We must defend Niv-Mizzet as he recovers," she said. Each other representative readied their own weapons, ranging from the Gruul representative Borborygmos and his colossal hammer to Joselyn's sural, to Ral's lightning. Nissa and Emmara stood back to back, roots and vines rising up around them as Izoni summoned legions of insects alongside Tajic's actual legion. Lazav shifted into Joselyn's form, unfurling a sural of his own, as Hekara skipped up happily to join Ral. Even Ilharg came to the recovering dragon's side, squealing at the citadel as if in challenge, only receiving a response from the God-Eternal Bontu, who was quickly silenced by Nicol Bolas. And then they saw him, descending from the sky as if on a ray of sunlight. Gideon, Blackblade raised, charged at Nicol Bolas, the pegasus Promise powering forward. The elder dragon growled, and Oketra raised her bow, firing a bolt at the pegasus, striking it in the gut and knocking Gideon out of the sky. He plummeted to the ground, disappearing into a thick fog.

"Uh, yeah. We're doomed," Ral deadpanned.

"No, we're not," Hekara cackled.

"How so? We just watched our best idea get literally shot down."

"Not quite. Heee's HEEEAAAR!" Everyone gave the cultist a confused look before realizing that something was swirling in the fog, and the demon Rakdos himself surged upward, Gideon perched between his great horns. Oketra raised her bow and fired again, the rushed shot grazing the parun's shoulder. Rakdos's face contorted in pain, a look that worried even Hekara. "He's never had that reaction before," she said. A second arrow was released, this one looking like it would strike Rakdos in the chest, but it was instead blasted out of the air. Joselyn whipped around to find the source of the flame, her gaze landing on Jason. The pyromancer was on the roof of a nearby building, locked in a ballet of flame as he switched between taking down Oketra's continuing fire and destroying Eternals on the roof with the help of a Boros legionnaire. A final blast of fire hit Oketra's hand, shattering her bow just as Rakdos got within striking range. The demon attempted to grapple with Oketra as Gideon leaped off, but was quickly knocked to the ground. Only a few cultists paid this any mind as the rest of Ravnica held its breath for Gideon's desperate lunge. There was a loud clang as Blackblade connected with the dragon's scaley brow and shattered, along with the hopes of everyone watching. Once again, Gideon plummeted to the ground under the glare of a tyrant's scorn, no demon there to be the wind wind beneath his wings this time. All hope had been lost, and Joselyn cried out. Not for another defeat, but because of pain. She felt the control over the few Eternals she had ripped away from her, the light blue glow in their sockets now a deep purple as they began running towards the citadel. Curious about what had just happened, the young girl ran to follow them.

OoOoO

When you rule by fear, your greatest weakness is one who is no longer afraid. This was a fact that Liliana had taken to heart, and at times extorted. But now she stood before a towering citadel, forced to serve a tyrant. As she watched Gideon fall after the souldrinker that they had worked so hard to retrieve on Dominaria shattered, she wanted to throw up. Nicol Bolas was going to win, and there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing that wouldn't end her life, at least. So even as she watched the only person who had stuck by her side, who believed in her when no one else did, fall flat on the street, she willed the Dreadhorde to continue with Nicol Bolas's plan. Until she saw something heartbreaking. You young girl guiding her kid brother through the streets, desperate to avoid the Eternals. She locked eyes with Liliana for a second, those emerald eyes filled with confusion, fear, and love, all three of which faded as an eternalized hippo charged through the building next to them, crushing the siblings under piles of stone. She looked in horror at the bloody arm protruding from the rubble, and thought of the innocent little boy, the young girl she had seen earlier, everyone on Ravnica who had died because the most powerful being in the multiverse wanted even more. She thought of her brother, Josu. About how she had caused him to go mad with rage, unstoppable even in death. Serve or die, those were the dragon's terms, and for the necromancer Liliana, with dreams of immortality, the choice was clear. She chose death. Gritting her teeth through the pain of the Chain Veil, she called to her army. Every Eternal on Ravnica stood at her attention, ready to begin their assault on the would-be god. Her skin flared up, the lines of her demonic pact glowed a brilliant orange as they burned through her. She had defied Nicol Bolas. Her contract was broken, and her life forfeit. But she was now free to choose her fate, and she decided it was worth it. Nicol Bolas roared, a full-fledged draconic roar, filled with rage and malice, but at the same time smug, like a human grunting in pain before swatting a mosquito. Liliana cried in agony as her contract burned through her, but still she pushed on, taking control of Bontu and Oketra once more, hoping to get one strike in before she died. And then a heavy hand rested on her shoulder, and the pain went away. To Liliana's surprise, the cost of betraying Bolas did not fall on her, something she found out when she turned her head to see Gideon, bloody and beaten, granting her his indestructibility and taking the force of the contract himself. _Don't do this_, she mouthed to him, and all she got was a smile and a push towards the citadel. Eternals had begun climbing, moving to kill the God-Pharaoh. Instead of protesting Gideon's sacrifice, time wasted in a vain effort, she turned her attention to the God-Eternals. _You are the gods. He is the usurper. You know what to do._ She whispered this to whatever remained of the gods' consciousness, and it seemed to work as the undead deities moved towards the elder dragon. In one last attempt at survival, Nicol Bolas let all of his power loose, obliterating Oketra in an instant. He turned to face Bontu, planning to deliver to her the same fate as her sister, when something caught his back. The elder dragon wailed as he fell to his knees, Hazorets spear buried in the flesh between his wings as Niv-Mizzet towered over him. Bontu latched her jaws onto Nicol Bolas, draining every spark he had absorbed that day. The great power was too much for even a god, and Bontu bursted apart like every other Eternal that had harvested a spark, thousands of sparks flooding into the sky as Nicol Bolas was reduced to ash. As the sky cleared and the daylight fell upon her face, Liliana turned to see that Gideon had suffered a similar fate. All that was left of him was a pile of ashes and charred armor. A young girl, no older than twelve, walked up to the spot where Gideon had stood, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I saw everything you did," she said.

"Then please tell them. Chandra, Nissa, Jace, I know they hate me. Please tell them that I'm not truly the monster they think I am." The girl nodded.

"I can do that. It seems Gideon made an impression on both of us."

"That he did." Liliana said with a watery chuckle as she scooped up the Gem of Becoming that had fallen from Nicol Bolas's horns as he died and planeswalked away.

OoOoO

Ravnicans crowded around the fallen statue of Nicol Bolas, cheering at the elder dragon's defeat. It felt like an eternity had passed since that statue was torn down, but in reality, it had only been a few hours. Only a few hours had changed or taken the lives of millions. Yet, amidst all the damage and murder committed, everyone was celebrating. The massive groups of Ravnicans made navigating the streets difficult, something Joselyn found out rather quickly. It took a while, but she finally found the Gatewatch, along with several other planeswalkers and Ravnicans. Chandra was the first to greet her. "Hey, kid, you seen Gideon recently?"

"He. . .he sacrificed himself so that Liliana could live. . ."

"WHY THAT BITCH!" Chandra screamed, her hair standing up in white-hot flame.

"Chandra, calm down," Jace called. "There's more to the story."

"What, more than Liliana letting Gideon die?"

"She didn't want him to," Joselyn pointed out. "I watched it all go down. Liliana turned the Eternals on Nicol Bolas and her skin started to burn. She was in pain, probably even dying trying to stop Nicol Bolas. Gideon _gave_ her his indestructibility, despite her pleading, _begging_ for him not to. He willingly sacrificed himself to give her the time to take down the dragon." Chandra looked dumbfounded, as if she didn't believe that Liliana could ever put herself in harm's way, or that she would object to some letting her live. Chandra's mouth moved, failing to make a sound until she settled for sitting down and pouting. Nissa slowly crept over to the pyromancer, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"You had feelings for him, didn't you?" the elf asked.

Chandra shook her head with a smile. "I admired him as maybe a little more than a brother, but it was never really that strong a feeling. I've been a little closer to someone else."

"Oh?"

"Y'all have fun working that out," Jace called. "I'm going to go talk with Niv-Mizzet." The two women ignored him.

"So, who is it?"

"Someone awfully close to me, and she has been for the past couple of years." Nissa's brow furrowed, the confusion evident in her expression. Chandra rolled her eyes, grabbed the back of Nissa's head, and pulled her into a deep kiss.

"Fucking finally," Joselyn cried, completely ruining the moment. The two women glared at her. "What? I saw this coming the moment I saw the two of you in a room together." _I've been around Zoe for far too long_, she thought. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check up on some other people. Just keep it PG while in public." Joselyn scampered off before either of the two could ask what she meant, eventually coming across Ral. He was standing next to another man, with Angrath and Huatli bickering off to the side. Moving to Ral's side, she saw Teyo, face white as a sheet and unmoving.

"The kid didn't deserve this," Ral said through a choked sob. "It was his first time away from home, and he was put straight into battle." The man rubbed Ral's back, attempting to comfort him.

"It's okay. At least he died a hero, unlike Domri."

"No, Tomik. It's not okay. He was just a kid."

"Hey," Joselyn said defensively. "We all lost someone today. It's perfectly okay to mourn like he is."

"There's no point," Angrath called over. "The dead are gone. They can't hear you anymore." Huatli looked like she wanted to facepalm, and probably would have if her arms hadn't been injured. Angrath continued. "It's no use mourning the dead. Instead, mourn those that they left behind, for they can still hear you, and they are the ones in need of the attention rather than the dead." Joselyn pondered this, realizing how close it fit with her own family.

"There is still reason to mourn the dead," Huatli groaned. "My people worship our ancestors as much as we do the great dinosaurs. The dead can still very much hear you."

"I've seen your people. They're a bunch of self-righteous pricks."

"Don't think that you being a minotaur will stop me from calling bull."

"I see you've been to Earth in your travels. That place is a real shithole."

"For once we agree on something. But I still can't wrap my head around you not believing the dead can't hear us." Ral and Tomik pulled Joselyn away before the argument became any more heated, both figuratively and literally thanks to Angrath's chains.

ONE MONTH LATER

The old chambers had now been turned into a cemetery, since there were so many dead and Niv-Mizzet decided to keep his lair within the Izzet guildhall. It was here that Joselyn found Jason and Syllia. She joined them, looking at the headstone.

_Lavinia, Azorius Chancellor_

_Defender of Ravnica in its darkest hour_

_We will honor and remember you_

"She earned it," Joselyn said softly.

"Oh, she earned a whole lot more," Jason responded. He pulled something out of his pocket, a small silver ring, and placed it at the head of the grave.

"So, did Domri get a grave?"

"Yeah, a small one donated by the Gruul that just says 'That Dick' by the sewage outflow pipe in Izzet territory." Joselyn laughed.

"Syllia, how's your arm doing?"

"Oh, it's been worse," the elf said. "It still smarts a bit from time to time, but hey, c'est la vie. Anyway, it's starting to snow. We need to you inside before your burns start acting up," she said to Jason.

"Burns?" Joselyn was curious.

"Yeah. This idiot overdid himself, covered his entire body in second-degree burns. Turns out that even pyromancers aren't fireproof."

"Everyone overdid themselves and is banged up because of it," Jason muttered. The two girls only laughed.

The three entered the Guild Hall, the recently built replacement for the Chambers of the Guildpact. The hall was being decorated for Midwinter's Day, all of which gave a very Christmassy vibe to Joselyn, at least from what Zoe had described. Huatli caught notice of them and waved them over. "How are you all doing this evening?" she asked cheerfully.

"Not bad," Joselyn was able to say for the first time in her life. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as him," she nodded her head in Jason's direction. "Emmara won't let me leave the plane until my injuries are healed a decent amount. Otherwise, I'd be back on Kaladesh."

"I thought you were from Ixalan," Syllia said.

"I was born there, but after meeting Saheeli, Kaladesh has become my home."

"Home," Joselyn whispered, barely audible to even herself.

"You look like you're missing something, Joselyn," Huatli observed.

"I think I might still have people at home. Though, they probably think I'm dead."

"Then go find them. It's not that daunting to face your family."

"You clearly don't know my family. Besides, it's less of that and more of facing an ugly truth."

"I won't inquire any further, but I will tell you this. You resurrected a dragon, fought a god, and saved the lives of millions all in one day. You're strong, and can handle whatever waits for you back home. Now go find your family. Just promise me that you'll come visit every once in a while." Joselyn stood silent for a bit, and then nodded. She looked to see Jason and Syllia both giving her a thumbs up.

"You deserve a break kid. Now go, get outta here and back to your family before I have to do something about it," Jason playfully threatened. Joselyn smiled.

"I will. See you all soon." And with that, she planeswalked away.

**A/N: How's it, Driver3196 here with the final chapter in the Ravnica arc. As you all know, Joselyn didn't quite return home like she promised her new friends. As to where she did go, that's something you'll have to wait and find out(yes, Carly and I are evil bastards). Remember that you can PM me any questions you have regarding any of the characters and MTG lore in this chapter, and I am more than happy to respond. Until then, Driver out.**


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46: Loose ends**

Alexa sat by the cliffside, gazing out at the world of Alynthi at sunset over the horizon while the eldest of the Carpenter girls made the moon rise. Two years, she had stayed here. Two years she had ignored the quest she'd been on since she was seven years old. And why? Because a scrawny boy was interesting? She found herself shocked she hadn't used him for her own purposes.

She felt sick with herself just for thinking about it, using him. He had been nothing but kind to her, showing her things she had never seen before. He still didn't know what had happened that night all those years ago, but maybe…_maybe_ he'd understand.

_"I'm so sorry…" _The last thing her father ever said to her, the last thing she saw before her spark ignited was him with tears in his eyes sprinting away.

She turned when she heard a noise. (Quantic) Jared was standing there, looking at the view as well. He sat down beside her, and they remained in silence for a bit until he turned to her.

"You want to go find him." Not a question. It wasn't like she was going to lie to him. Besides, she didn't usually stay in one place and was getting a bit of wanderlust. She knew from the way his eyes were boring into her that he could tell.

"I've stayed too long." She muttered simply, "He's out there somewhere." He nodded to himself a little, nonjudgmental acknowledgment of what she believed,

"I hate to push, but are you sure he wants to be found?" In a normal circumstance, that question would put her on the defensive, and she'd leave if he pushed too much. But he wasn't asking judgmentally, but like he was asking what she thought. She sighed, deciding to be honest.

Alexa fiddled with her dagger as she admitted, "I don't think he does. But I know he needs help; otherwise, he wouldn't have run, or he might have come home…I need to find him, save him from whatever was driving him mad."

"Do you even know he's still alive?" She shook her head,

"Not for certain. But I have hope." She opened a golden locket around her neck, revealing a picture of her family, and Jared noticed something about her father. The swirls in his eyes were familiar, very familiar. He brightened, helping Alexa up.

"I think I know a way we can find him!" She raised an eyebrow,

"We?"

"Well yeah, I told you I'd help, and that picture…I think I know who would know." They ran back to his lab on Alynthi, and he shouted into the empty room, "Grim!"

Grim Reaper appeared, "You called?" Jared turned to Alexa,

"May I borrow your locket for a second?" She nodded, slipping it off and giving it to him. He showed it to the Guardian of Human Afterlife, "The man in this picture. Judging by his eyes, he's an ill stone wielder. Do you know who he is?" Grim Reaper staggered backward,

"Dorian Nanami?!" Alexa brightened,

"You know him!" Grim Reaper nodded,

"Yeah, he was one of Freya's. But it clearly didn't work all too well." Jared crossed his arms,

"What do you mean?"

"Well, not much is known about Dorian, just that he is an example of a stone wielder gone wrong. Rumor has it that the power didn't transfer to him properly since it was around the same time as Kelly, and it messed him up _badly_."

"That tracks." Alexa mused, "So can you look in your system to see if he's still alive after the tragedy?" Grim Reaper shrugged, pulling out a massive book from his robe,

"Hm…Nanami…oh, here it is. Dorian Nanami. Status: technically alive."

Alexa sighed in relief, "Any idea where he is."

"Rumor has it a man matching his description resides on Zhisfire. Afterlife rumors are more reliable than living rumors since we of the dead can pop in on the living whenever we want." Alexa gave a joyful laugh, hugging Grim,

"Thank you!" Grim Reaper sighed,

"Don't thank me yet. If Dorian really is a messed up as the rumors say, the man that was once your father may be gone."

But Alexa was already packing a bag, turning to Jared, "Are you sure you want to come with?" He nodded,

"You're my friend, Alexa. And I do want to travel—hopefully without being worshipped wherever I go. I told you I'd help, so I will."

He really hated being worshipped the way he was whenever he traveled. If he was going to be famous, it should be for something involving science, not for killing someone! Sure, he and the others ended the Tragedy, but the only reason he got involved was that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got kidnapped by Zoe. It could have easily been Gizmo in his place.

Alexa grinned, "Thanks, Jared." Another thing he liked about her. As lacking in friendship knowledge as she was, she still referred to him by his actual name! Not 'mini-me' or 'chipmunk' or any of the other nicknames the team had for him, just Jared.

And so, they were off to go find Dorian. Hopefully, they could grab Dorian and fix him quickly, because maybe then "friendship classes" would not be interrupted by sudden bouts of wanderlust on Alexa's part.

Heading to the clearing, they saw Psychic Jared and Camille talking to Gizmo and the Outcasts—Rhydian and his band of friends.

"You want to come with us?" Gizmo asked, her eleven feet of hair being used as her chair. Psychic Jared nodded,

"I need to find Joselyn. I know her better than these kids or the witch search parties do." Rhydian shrugged, looking to his friends, before noticing Quantic Jared and bowing. Quantic Jared groaned, looking to his Other with a look of irritation, which was mirrored on his Other's face.

Rhydian flushed, "Sorry...force of habit." Quantic Jared ran his hands through his hair,

"Yeah, Psychic, get ready for _a lot_ more of that wherever you go. Alynthi is one of the only safe places. Hana's lucky because she disappears whenever she steps into a shadow."

"Yeah, and she uses it to steal cakes." Psychic Jared rolled his eyes, "Shadow Charmers are usually deadly undetected demonic assassins, not cake thieves."

"Are you judging me?" Hana asked, appearing out from under the shade of a tree, "If I wanted to, I could kill you all by unleashing my demon side, or Ramsey. Be lucky I only choose to steal cakes for myself and my fiancé." As if in response to her name, Ramsey ran to Quantic Jared, licking him. He'd initially been very uncomfortable with the hellhound, but since he was friends with Hana in their unofficial co-parenting of Amhar—a bright child, literally and figuratively—Ramsey saw him as a second master.

"Jared!" Both Jareds turned and saw Zoe coming over, using her new cane which had a gun in it, "Good luck on your respective quests." Alexa frowned,

"How did you know I was going on a quest?"

"Did you not read the sign?" She gestured to a sign which read:

"Quest Clearing. Do not come here unless you are going on or returning from a quest, this is basically the landing area, and you may be crushed by a landing Gummi Ship or random planeswalker if you're here without reason. If you are just arriving, unless you're okay with not having peace even when you're dead, fucking run."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So bye! Try not to get murdered horribly!" Quantic Jared sighed,

"I think you just raised all of our death flags." Zoe nodded,

"Probably. But does death really mean anything for us?" She had a point. And then she was gone, vanishing into the shadows with Hana— since the Shadow Charmer had been teaching the Worldbender more mastery over her dark powers.

Gizmo, Psychic Jared, Cam, and the Outcasts all got in a ship and flew off in search of Joselyn, leaving Alexa and Quantic Jared alone.

"Last chance to back out." Alexa offered, "We might be gone for a long time."

"Not too long. I was helping Harrison with a device that tracks people through their DNA, so worst case I finish that, and we find him through your genes." She brightened, taking his hand,

"You know, Jared. I've met many men in my lifetime, but nobody like you. Kind, genuine, and not basking in the fame you have. You haven't given up on me, and are actually willing to help. You're...my friend? That's what a friend is, right?" She still didn't have an excellent grasp on what friendship is, but she was getting there. Once her mind was at rest, she would probably learn much faster. Besides, he was curious about her father, since she was still closed off about what exactly happened that night, just that he ran out. He did know about her being a planeswalker, meaning whatever had happened was traumatic, but the fact she had trusted him with that secret was an important step.

Letting his wings emerge from his back, he and Alexa flew into the Lanes Between.

OoOoO

With every day that passed, Felix only grew more and more miserable. Every time Kaylee saw him, she got increasingly worried as she watched his spirit break. Kyra hadn't started the kidnappings in the last year since she hadn't found anyone who would do the job with no questions asked.

While he was treated kindly enough, Valeria still made his place clear, that he was Amaya's betrothed and his only purpose was essentially the trophy spouse. The kindness he was given was just to keep his mother from going on a rampage.

Amaya was sweet, but each time Kaylee arrived, she grew more aggressive and possessive and had guards around him at all times. It felt like he was drowning with no way out. It was a weird thing to yearn for being kidnapped, but here he was.

The only joy he found was his pegasus rides whenever Kyra or his maidservant, Hatsune, could sneak him away from the guards. It was the only time he could fly, and for those fleeting moments, he forgot how crippled he was. A flightless Nephilim? It had been pointed out by multiple visiting covens over the year, that what use was he if he couldn't protect his own wings?

Kyra keeping her mother busy helped a lot, but it was really Hatsune that kept him from shattering entirely in the days without Kaylee. When Valeria or Amaya was in the room, they were practicing posture, or she was cleaning. But when the doors were closed, the two were goofing off and laughing. She saw him for the person he was, not some tool out of spite or as some helpless male, but as a being with a soul.

But he was scared she would be taken away if Valeria found out about their relationship. He thought back to what happened to Kyra over wanting control of her own fate. What would happen if it was discovered he had a forbidden friendship with his maid, which he feared would be interpreted as something more. It would be branded adultery, as though she is stealing something that belongs to Amaya, even though he hasn't once said his vows and refuses to give her even the time of day. The more Amaya tried to protect him and make him happy with a submissive life, the more closed off he became.

It was just how she was raised, he knew that. But it still hurt. He didn't want to pick flowers or walk through the garden surrounded by guards, or paint. He used to love painting, trying out new art styles, but now it was just going through the motions.

He loved it when his parents and siblings came to visit and yearned for someone to see just how miserable he was. He wished he wasn't drugged into submission as Valeria's own servants as they forced makeup and glamours on him to hide the circles under his eyes, his thinness, or his wan skin.

A vicious part of him wanted his mother to see through it all, he wanted to scream it at her, that he was drowning and beg her to kill them all except Hatsune and Kyra, and take him home. He knew she knew he was suffering, and she asked him every time she visited if he was okay and if she needed to act, but he feared the consequences for telling her the truth since it was his job to keep the family away from war—even though both of his parents insisted he didn't have to and they'd find another way.

But he knew this was his own fault since he'd made his mother promise not to go on a rampage unless he was _that_ damaged if only to preserve her newfound conscience. He didn't know it rendered both parents sleepless at night, worrying about his wellbeing.

It was then that Felix realized he had strayed farther than usual on his pegasus and the only reason he noticed this was because he saw a ship capable of traveling the Lanes Between next to the water.

He landed and saw two men and one woman. One man was a giant, one was a warrior. The woman wore an elegant green tunic and brown leather pants, clearly the leader of the group. She turned to him, and the malicious flicker in her eyes gave Felix hope and a lot of it.

"Excuse me," the woman, clearly human, said, "We're merchants through the worlds. Is there a village nearby?" While he had heard some variation of this question before, he knew this time wasn't genuine, since his gut was telling him to run. Ignoring his self-preservation instinct, he smiled,

"No. There's nothing nearby for miles." Just as expected, the woman grinned evilly, and the giant started walking up to him.

"Then there will be nobody to hear you scream." Before the giant could knock him out, Felix flicked his head a little, sending the pegasus back to the palace stables,

"I can walk. No need to knock me upside the head unless you want to handle me concussed." He walked into the ship and let himself be tied up, frowning when he realized they clamped a Phoenix eye bracelet on his wrist. As he felt the spikes emerge and tear into the flesh, he gasped in pain, biting onto his red tunic. Well, this was probably why Kyra told him to wear red, better to hide the blood with.

Within moments, the unexpected pain plus the drain from the Phoenix eye had him out cold.

OoOoO

Gavin shot awake, having had a vision of Felix's kidnapping. He immediately entered the minds of everybody on Alynthi, screaming, "FELIX'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

This got everybody up, with Zoe falling over outside her door, momentarily forgetting she needed a cane to get around. She shifted and looked ready to kill.

Kaylee barged in, grabbing Gavin by the shoulders, "Did you see where he is?!"

"Y-Yes." Gavin said, shaking a little due to still being afraid after his vision, "I saw him on some cliffs, I think it's the border to another coven's territory. Um..." he handed her his dream journal where he had drawn what he saw. Kaylee, knowing that Gizmo's analytical power was significantly stronger since she'd had it her whole life, and Kaylee had been artificially given hers only two years ago. Gizmo would be able to work much faster.

"Gizmo, I need the location in this drawing!" She sent Gizmo a picture, and almost immediately got a response,

"The border of the Ashara coven on the world of Nethilor. I just sent you some coordinates." Kaylee smiled,

"Thanks, Gizmo." She'd typically do it on her own, but she accepted Gismo was still the prowess _for now_. She'd actually been working with Gizmo, befriending her, testing on her prehensile hair to figure out which chemical was used, and how it could be weaponized or cut. The cutting thing still hadn't happened and even Grim's scythe couldn't cut it.

Ever since learning emotions and well...morals...Gizmo was a fun, quirky person. According to Kagami, she used to be vastly different, switching between personalities constantly. She still did that from time to time, but it happened less frequently since things were never dull. Harrison and Amelia had practically adopted her as their own. Emotions were still a struggle, especially without Joselyn, but she wasn't as freakishly apathetic.

Kaylee changed into her battle leathers and grabbed a couple pistols frantically, knowing every second mattered. If these people or beings could capture Felix, they could very well kill him.

Zoe was there with the keys to a Gummi jet, which is a smaller version of the Gummi Ship and goes much faster.

"Thanks." She tried to see as she ran to the quest clearing and hopped into the jet, ready to get her friend back. In the back of her mind, she realized she could use saving him as a way to get another three or so days. She couldn't bear to see how miserable Felix was. She had yet to confront the Sardothien coven about it since she didn't exactly interact with them, but if he got worse...

For a moment, the images of the bodies of her friends and parents flashed before her eyes. During the mutual killing caused by Kahu—which she referred to as the Kingsman Outbreak—on her home-world, she saw her friends and parents turn on each other and her. She had seen them die and felt the blood on her hands as she defended herself. Even two years later, she hadn't gotten over it.

After that, she refused to lose Felix, her dear friend. There was no way in hell she would let him die.

OoOoO

In a home carved into the snowcapped mountains of Zhisfire, Dorian Nanami sat drawing at his fireplace, drawing as he gazed into the minds of the stone wielders and those close to them. In the background, the radio was on, telling the world the bravery and power of their saviors. He'd had these messages on loop for two years now, trying to see what was so special about killing one particular person. Sure, it ended the Tragedy as a whole, but why did it matter to the entire multiverse if a few billion worlds were decimated? Why did it matter the zillions of lives taken? Until maybe a little over twenty years ago, travel between worlds was forbidden, and god forbid a Worldbender was spawned from it. So why did it matter, when five years ago it wasn't common knowledge that other worlds were out there? And with how dull life was, a little chaos and mass hysteria were fun.

So he found himself unhappy in his mountain home, staring out the window to see the town below, untouched by Kahu's power but knew full well of its existence.

Zhisfire, contrary to what the name might suggest, was a world locked in an eternal winter. It wasn't supposed to be this way, but Dorian liked it in winter, so he tapped into the mind of the resident cytomancer, and she kept the world like this. It wasn't a harsh winter, just lightly snowing or a chill temperature with minimal sunshine.

Nobody knew the power the man living on the mountain possessed. The thirty years he had honed it, mastered it until he had every power in existence other than that of the other five stone wielders and the reality bending of the man who had the other half of his psychic ability. Was that man alive anymore? His formerly dead classmate. He did wonder vaguely, so he put his drawings down and turned to the Book of Prophecies, flipping through until he learned that man didn't exist now, survived by his three children and friends.

Curiously, he flicked through the book some more, noticing he would have visitors soon. The daughter he didn't remember, and one of the stone wielders. He grinned, more than a little crazed. He knew he was on the brink of snapping, and what better outlet for his inevitable breakdown than the source of his snapping? Some kid who went and ruined his fun.

Looking back to the book, Dorian was glad to see that the psychic with the diminished copy of his own power had started reading the fake book.

When Dorian had sensed a power source launched through the sky, that supposed wall the psychic plowed through was instead Dorian teleporting up to him and snatching the real Book of Prophecies. And after copying everything from the past into a fake, he changed everything written for the future. With those ideas planted in his head and the fact of having just yielded the only power equal to Dorian's own short of the Demon-Nephilim who had been locked away long ago, it was going to be very easy to turn this "Jared" into his puppet, just plant some ideas of his daughter being in danger and everything that could be done making it worse, and the young psychic would be putty in his hands the more he broke with that supposed knowledge.

Tapping into the mind of Camille Blackwell, Dorian laughed as she felt Jared's terror at what he just read. To think young Rhydian would kill Joselyn after becoming controlled by Amhar Darbonne, son of Kahu...it was laughable since there was not an evil bone in either's body. But Jared didn't know that, which made it even better. And now a chain of events would be set in motion.

Getting up from his seat, he stared at the decorative boxes sealed behind indestructible glass. Each one held the soul of someone he had defeated. There looked to be maybe a dozen at a glance, but each box had hundreds hidden behind it.

He put some food on the stove because he didn't want his soon-arriving company to be hungry. After all, they did have the dedication to look for him so hard.

Once the food was cooking, he pulled out a simple silver pen, then pressed a button. Upon activation, a long, dark silver pole extended from the grip with an obsidian skull on its tip. From there, two beams of azure energy stretched from either side of the skull, with one of the beams blending into a short, v-cut blade, and the other becoming much longer and scythe-shaped.

He turned back to the souls as they grew restless in their containers,

"Oh, quiet down, will you? I'm going to have company," he deactivated the scythe, putting it in his jacket pocket, "And I want to make a good first impression. The second impression, however?" He dished himself up some food as he heard someone coming to his door, "No promises."

**A/N: First chapter of the fifth and final installment will be out tomorrow.**


	47. Update

The next and final installment, Defying Destiny, is now out.


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